


Red Hood and The Outlaws : Loyalty

by WrittenByCee



Category: Batman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Killing, Language, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Drugs, Smut, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:37:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 40,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11172471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrittenByCee/pseuds/WrittenByCee
Summary: As Jason Todd infiltrates Black Mask's new empire to take it down, a strange young woman sent by the League of Assassins arrives in Gotham to bring back the Red Hood to Ra's Al Ghul.But with an Amazon and a Superman Clone around the mission won't be an easy task and loyalties will be tested._________________________- Based on Dc Comics - RHATO Rebirth- Sorry for the grammar mistakes if there are some. English is not my mother tongue. So feel free to correct me :-)_________________________AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A KUDO / A COMMENT. Every writer loves to know what people think of their work.





	1. Welcome To Gotham City

Hand tensed on their sub-machine guns, the men were all gathered in the middle of the wagon. Eyes filled with panic and terror, their hearts pounding in their chests, they were brisk. Someone, something was in this train with them and was slowly tearing them apart one by one. In the wagon next to theirs, the cattle was bleating, twisting and turning.

“Keep your eyes open and stay together. Whatever is in this fucking train, it won’t come out of it alive” the leader said trying to keep his composure

A shadow briefly cloaked the moonlight that was shining through the window before vanishing and suddenly the cattle cake began to crack on the floor, all around them. The thing had entered and was now circling them, probably waiting for the weakest man to drop his guard, to flee, to make a mistake that would cost his life.

“Is that a game to you?” A man cried with his hand trembling on his weapon.

It was, somehow, because the predator when in the hunt never makes a sound and contents itself to crouch and wait for the right opportunity to strike. This thing with them was not hunting. It was toying, making noise on purpose, taking pleasure in scaring them, gloating at the view of them stressing as sheep feeling the presence of the wolf in the pen.      
Indistinctive murmurs came out the mouth of one of the men. His eyes were closed and tears were running along his face.

“What the fuck are you doing Jero?”     
“… que si alguno va a salir de este mundo, no se le prive del … “            
“ Are you really babbling prayers man?”

And then suddenly, the so-called Jero just disappeared in a last piercing scream. Roars were heard from the back of the wagon as well as something that sounded like bone breaking and flesh being ripped apart.        
And suddenly something rolled towards the small crowd of men. A head. Jero’s head.

“Holy shit” one man said.            
“I’m getting out of here” A man declared, fearful.          
“Howard don’t”

Too late, he had already left the group to run to the door, thinking he had more chances to survive by jumping of the train. He didn’t have time to unlock the door that he was already on the floor, pulled by his legs, his hands trying to catch for something to hold on to.

“Nooooo!” he screamed in pain               
“Open fire” the chief yelled

They obeyed and began to shoot relentlessly. A thick cloud of smoke invaded the wagon and when he disappeared they barely had the time to realise that instead of hitting their mark, Howard was now filled with lead and completely legless. In fact, the second after, their attacker was already on them, biting them, clawing them, and ripping their limbs apart. It was a real noisy bloodbath: man screaming in agony and terror, gunshots and animalistic and powerful growls.  
It lasted merely a minute before everything went back silent.

The creature was now noiselessly walking in the pool of blood, his huge white paws drenched in red. It was looking for something, smelling something. It stopped near a haystack and stared at it with its glowing amber eyes before lying on the floor.

Its limbs stretched out and every bone of its body began to crack, from paws to head, its claws disappeared first, then its fur until finally everything that made this creature a beast was gone.

It stood up, its now pale and naked feminine body covered in blood shining under the dawn light in all its splendour that she covered with a thick leather jacket she took from one of the corpses. With a graceful but strong gesture she cut the haystack’s ties with her manicured nails and plunged her hands inside of it. Something was definitely in there. She blindly grabbed it and extracted it from the hay: bags of cocaine.

“Black Mask, you son of a bitch”

A moan came out from behind her. She turned around, fearless. A man was crawling on the ground, with a missing arm, his face pale as death. She walked towards him with a gracious gait and kneeled. He stared at her begging her.

“ Please, please, don’t kill me”                 
“ Because you honestly think you’re going to survive even if I let you leave?” She smiled as he was crying like a baby for his mother.             
“ Then help me. I’ll tell Black Mask what you want”      
“ But I already have what I want.” She laughed “This whole wagon is going to enter Gotham City in flames. No one can stop it now and Black Mask’s precious cargo is going to go _poof_ , and you along with it, you scumbag. Gosh, I just wish I would be there see Black Mask’s face when he’ll learn about this”              
“ Why are you doing this?”          
“Well, I know it would sound heroic to tell you it’s too protect Gotham but it’s actually just a tiny little part of a much bigger scheme. I’m here to bring back a traitor back to the League of Assassins and since he works for Black Mask now, well, what better way to make him come to me?”

She got up and moved towards the window. Far in the east, Gotham was waking up from her dark night but there was a light still flickering up in the sky, the light she had so much heard about: the bat-symbol fading in the appearing sunlight, Gotham had called for her knight in his shining armour.

“Now the real fun begins”


	2. Track Me If You Dare

“ What do you mean ‘someone burnt the cargo’?” Black mask yelled                    
“ The wagon arrived in flames.”                 
“ Didn’t I pay men to keep it safe?”          
“ They’re dead, sir”

Jason tried to hide his smile but inside he was gloating. At least, someone had the guts to put a spoke in Black Mask’s wheels. He was just disappointed that it hadn’t been him but he knew his time would come.

“ I don’t care if they’re dead. Do you have any idea of how much this shipment cost?”                
“ I suppose …”     
“ Millions of dollars” He slammed his fist on the dining table “ It cost millions of dollars”         
“ I’m sorry sir”    
“ Get out before you join those incapable bastards”

The man obeyed and hasted his path trembling, knowing that his boss was pretty serious when it came to threats.

“ Looks like you have a bit of a problem” Jason said dabbing his mouth with his napkin              
“ You think?” Black mask screamed throwing his fork violently on the table, which eventually landed on the floor with a clinging noise. “I want the head of the son of a bitch who did this on a silver platter and I want it now”     
“ You should be careful. You don’t know what you are facing. Judging by the casualties, this is clearly not Batman but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be worried”                
“ I don’t care who it is. The bastard’s dead already”      
“ You have a plan? Already called some nasty mercenaries?”                                     
“ Oh I have one in mind”

Jason stopped chewing when he felt Black Mask’s evil eyes on him.

“ I’m no mercenary” Jason declared       
“ But you work for me. And we both know that you’re the man for the job”         
“ No offense but I think I could have appreciated the compliment if it had been from someone else”  
“ You’re fearless. It’s good. But what happened last night can’t happen again. I have a new cargo arriving in two days, much bigger, much more expensive and much more important. No way a damn vigilante - or whatever it is - sabotages this.”                  
“ I’ll go inspect the train, but I won’t kill anyone. Not if they don’t deserve it”                  
“ I like a man who follows his moral code. It shows character. But I like better the smell of my enemies’ burning flesh.”

* * *

 

He loved burning flesh, right? Then he would have enjoyed seeing this massacre. Bodies burned to ashes and limbs not even attached to their respective bodies anymore were scattered across the wagon while the thick wooden floor was stained with dry blood and the air reeked of charred flesh and smoke.              
Walking with precaution, Jason looked at the place with certain disgust. Whoever had done this was definitely a bloodthirsty, merciless and aggressive killer. Those men had been butchered and judging by the different stretches of dry blood around the bodies the murderer had taken its time to kill.

“You actually enjoyed it, didn’t you?” Jason whispered

But something called Jason to mind: the cutting marks on the bodies. Though the corpses were severely burnt, the cut weren’t precise or linear which made him realise that no type of blades had been used. On the contrary, the bodies had been turned to pieces like a lion would have killed an antelope: throat slitting and damaged limbs to prevent escaping.

“Claw marks and bites” Jason frowned his eyes “What kind of sheep was this train transporting?” he joked

But the joke was momentary as Jason spotted strange prints near the windows. They were paws prints, huge, bigger that his hand, tracing a precise trail towards the window. But what was stranger was that those prints were leading to other prints, human foot prints … No they actually turned into human footprints

“ Shapeshifter?”

He only knew three persons in this world able to transform into animals. One of them was Beast Boy but never would he go on a rampage like this and kill a dozen of men in cold blood. It was not the Teen Titans way. It was not their way of bringing justice. The other two however, Cheetah and Bronze Tiger, were more likely to do so. But the prints were canine-like not feline judging by the two lobes at the rear of the heel pad and the very distinct claw marks, which made Cheetah and Bronze Tiger out of the suspect list and Jason realised he had no clue on who could have done this. Only the small size of the human feet let him think it was a woman. But he wasn’t willing to do a Cinderella chase in Gotham City. However, perhaps someone had heard about her.     
He ceased his phone and looked for Bruce’s number in his contacts but once his finger on the calling button he changed his mind. No he could handle it without the bat just as he had handled everything else before. Was it pride? Probably but he knew deep down that he had all the qualifications to manage a Shapeshifter. It wouldn’t be his first fight against one … if there would be a fight. After all, those bastards may have deserved what happened to them... No, Black Mask deserved it.                 
However that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t look after this … vigilante? Was that the right word? No certainly not. But whatever this Shapeshifter was, he would go after it to find out.

Jason’s phone rang. He answered, rolling his eyes at the sight of the name on the screen.

“ So have you found the bastard yet?” Black Mask’s stiff angry voice demanded            
“ Not yet. But it appears you’re dealing with a Shapeshifter – some kind of canine - and judging by this carnage, she is not in the mood to let you get away with your business”                    
“ And I won’t let him get away with his life. Find him!”                  
“ I said ‘she’” he insisted pissed by the fact that he had barely paid attention to what he had said  
“ So this bitch is as good as dead and I’ll have her head above my chimney”   
“ So you want me to bring you her head? Must tell you right now. I’m not into beheading people”  
“ Don’t worry. I’ll collect it myself. Find her. Bring her to me so that I can make her suffer before I slash her head off. I’ve always wanted a wolf’s head in my smocking room. What a nice trophy it would be”

Jason hung up without adding anything. Black Mask’s mantra had a nose to piss him off even more than Bruce’s. Hopefully his infiltration in Black Mask’s business won’t last long and he will eventually go back to his old good life of now lonely outlaw.        
He got out of the train by the window that had been used by the Shapeshifter to escape. Perhaps he would find something. The wagon was scratched. Long claw marks had scraped the metal grey body, which let Jason guess that she had jumped from the train as it was still moving. Suicidal for any human being but for someone able to turn into an animal not so much apparently.                
But then, something caught Jason’s attention. A plastic bag was stuck in a rear wheel. Jason frowned and kneeled by the wheel. He removed the bag with precaution and stared at it. Residues of a white thick powder were stuck to it. He touched it, felt it between his finger and then smelt it. It smell like chemical and gasoline but apart from that it was almost odourless. But it was enough for Jason to get was it was. After all, he knew that shit all too well.

_Gotham City – 15 years ago_

Jason was painting on the damaged glass coffee table in the tiny living room of the degraded apartment he was living in with his mother, Katherine Todd. The TV was on. On the screen, his mum favourite telenovela about rich Colombian families encountering many problems, a Hispanic version of the Young and the Restless somehow.         
Jason had put it on knowing that his mother would be happy to see it once she would step a foot in the apartment after a hard day at work. But what little innocent Jason didn’t know at that time was that his mother was not passing her day at work anymore but in the Narrows with drug dealers, leaving him all day alone with for only company a television, few old books and a palette composed of primary colours that had blended with time. His dog, his only friend and comfort in his poor miserable life, had disappeared few months ago. His mum had told him he had run away to find a mate but deep down he felt it as a lie.

Jason heard suddenly the key turning in the keyhole. His face illuminated itself. His mother was back. He got up, ceased the tiny painting he was doing on a piece of paper he had torn away from an unused telephone book and came to welcome his mother with a bright smile.

“Mom! Look what I’ve painted. It’s for you”

She barely looked at it or paid much attention to her own son. Jason’s smile faded as his mother went to slump in the sofa whose springs squeaked under the weight of her light body. He grabbed her arm with his free small hand, shaking her. She gritted her teeth in pain and Jason immediately removed his hand. Her arms were covered in bruises.

“Did you hurt yourself mommy?” he asked worried       
“ I’m fine” she said patting his dark head as she sat straight on the couch     

She searched for something in her handbag. Jason stared at her still holding his painting in his hand. She put out a tiny bag full of something that looked like baking soda to him.      

“Are we going to bake mommy?”              
“No” She said before spreading the content of the bag on the table.

She drew a line with the powder and then took the paper Jason had in his hand before rolling it between her fingers. She put it in her nose and snorted the powder in one go before lying back on the couch, her eyes closed. The paper flew from her hand and Jason took it back, heartbroken. He unfolded it and looked at the not yet dried painting covered with this weird white powder with tears in his eyes.

This hadn’t been his first heartbreak, and it hadn’t been the last.


	3. I'm No Kitten

Shaking the ice cubes in her empty glass, the girl was listening to the men talking in the filthy bar. She didn’t like those places. It was disgusting. The furniture was covered in dust and was sticky because of the alcohol that the customers had not been able to keep in their glasses and those very same glasses looked as if they hadn’t been washed in decades. But worse, it reeked of fresh vomited alcohol and sweaty drunkards. And since those odours were enhanced by her superhuman sense of smell she had a real difficulty to tolerate this crappy place and was on the permanent edge of lashing out at anyone who would dare disturb her.

“Can I get a refill?” she asked the bartender

He approached her and poured her another whisky, trying to catch her look.

“ It’s your third refill. I hope you can hold your liquor kiddo otherwise you’ll have trouble going back home”  
“ I won’t get lost. I know the way”           
“ That’s not what I meant” he replied with a nod in direction of a table.

She discreetly turned around and looked at three men whose faces were covered with black leather masks and who were staring at her with a certain lust and perversity she could easily guess though she couldn’t see their eyes.

“They work for Black Mask and they don’t go in for subtleties”                
“Neither do I” She took a sip before her attention was suddenly caught by the television.

It was Vicky Vale doing a report in front of Gotham City Hospital about the mayor’s condition.

“ Hey Mark” yelled a customer “Turn it up! I just love seeing this son of a bitch getting shot”                  
“ Yeah bless the Red Hood for this. Finally someone put that mayor crap down!”         
“ The Red Hood huh?” the girl asked      
“ Yeah, perhaps the only vigilante I can tolerate”          
“ That’s because you never got your collarbone broken by that jerk. 4 days ago. Crashed into my boss’s car” one of Black Mask’s acolyte said         
“ Heard he’s been working for your boss Black Mask since, is that true?”          
“ Yep. All true. Black Mask wants him as his heir or something like that” another minion of Black Mask wearing a clean tuxedo confessed                  
“ Any idea where I can find him?” the girl questioned                    
“ Who? Black Mask? You don’t find him, doll. He finds you” the black masked man in the tuxedo replied before getting up to sit next to her at the bar “But why such a pretty innocent girl would like to find him?”        
“ Looking for a job”

She took another sip of her whisky without even looking at the man who was fixating her

“ You’re new in town, aren’t you kitten?”

She didn’t bother glancing at them and remained quiet, definitely not inclined to have a conversation right now.

“ Yeah you’re definitely new … I would recognize a pretty chick like you among thousands if I had seen one”                
“ I’m not new in town no and I’m not in the mood for some bar confessions”                   
“ Relax, kitten. I was just being polite”                   
“ And this is me POLITELY telling you to answer my question and get the hell away from me. Thank you”  
“ You’re in Gotham City now, kitten. Everything has a price” he said putting his hand on her lap.

She shivered instantly, repelled by his filthy hand. Her eyes lay on it quickly but her move was quicker. She grabbed his hand, got up and twisted his arm in the process making his shoulder crack before slamming him on the bar. His head landed on the whisky glass that broke and pierced his cheek. The man screamed in pain as he began to bleed on the counter, pieces of glass now stuck in half of his face.

“ Bitch!” he cried out      
“ Don’t you ever put your fucking hand on me and dare calling me "kitten" or anything else ever again jerk face or I’ll cut it. And I’m not talking about your hand” she threatened, her teeth gritted.

She suddenly heard the cocking of a gun behind her head. She released slowly the man on the counter who went falling on the ground.

“You wanted to see Black Mask? Well we’re going to drag your carcass to him”            
“Oh really?”

She punched him in the stomach with her elbow dodging the gunshot at the same time before taking him down with a kick in the shoulder. The guy landed on the ground, his hand on his shoulder. Everybody in the bar was now screaming and running through the bar’s exit but she was calm.

“ It seems you have fragile collarbones” she said putting her foot on his throat “ Now where is Black Mask?”  
“ Screw you …Aaaah” She pressed her heel on his trachea, piercing it slowly, making him muffle a cry in pain. “Alright. He has a penthouse downtown.”  
“ Where exactly?” she yelled     
“ I don’t know. We’ve never been there!”            
“ After that night I’m sure you will”        
“ Then we’ll tell him you’re coming bitch!”         
“ Good but I only need one of you to give him the message” as she dug her heel deep in his throat. His blood splashed from the hole and from his mouth as he began to choke on the red liquid, suffocating. “ You’ll tell him, right _kitten_?” She asked the other bleeding on the floor with a wink

The next morning, the blood continued to shed but not by her hand but by Black Mask’s.

“ I swear. All she said was that she wanted to meet you for a job or something and that she will come here”               
“ Then you’re even more useless than I thought”            
“ No please don’t”

And with a simple push on a button, his head exploded like a mere balloon. His brain and blood spattered on the floor and on Black Mask’s clean expensive suit. Red Hood grimaced at the bloody sigh, not yet used to such displays of gratuitous violence.

“ He could have tell us more” he said calmly “It may have been the same girl who attacked your cargo”         
“ I was running out of patience. How can I be surrounded by so many morons?”           
“ Perhaps you should review your recruitment methods” Jason joked with a seriousness that pissed off Black Mask              
“ Your impudence is tiring me, son. It’s a chance I need you”  
“ I’m not in the mood to catch a psychopath Shapeshifter right now. Not after a fight with an Amazon”           
“ Was it emasculating?”               
“ Eh, I’ve known worse” he shrugged his shoulders “By the way, where is Artemis?”                   
“ The Amazon? I let her go from her cell for a while”                       
“ She’ll flee”       
“ That’s unlikely. She thinks I have something that belongs to her”      
“ Yeah the Bow of Ra. So?”           
“ I told her I may be in the mood to negotiate if she brings me a wolf’s head if you see what I mean”  
“ You did what?”               
“ You might want to join her. He would be more emasculating than a beat up to have a woman doing a man’s job that was first assigned to you”

Jason sneered at him before putting on his red helmet on his way out of Black Mask’s desk, minding not to walk in the pond of blood on the floor and determined to find Artemis before she leaves. He was not up to track down the Shapeshifter especially not since he knew what fate she’ll encounter once caught but he needed to stay on Black Mask’s good side to fulfil his mission. And if that meant making few sacrifices then he would do so. After all, he was not Batman. Moral was not is second name.


	4. A Beast In Crime Alley

She was no detective but she was a damn good huntress. Always has been as far as she could recall. She had hunted Nubian ibex and dorcas gazelles as a teenager, learned to recognize prints and how fresh they were. But above all, she had learned how to track the Bow of Ra. And now it was close, at her reach, just a mere deal to fulfil and it will be hers and no dog whatsoever will prevent that.

It was a dark alley, wet and gloomy. The street lamps were dim and the dumpsters overwhelmed. The reek was atrocious. It was the kind of alley no one would walk through, at least not by choice. Even the name screamed cutthroat area. CRIME ALLEY. _The perfect place to hide a corpse_ , thought Artemis looking at the human arm sticking out of one of the dumpster, blood dripping from his sleeve.

She approached and opened the skip, holding her nose with one hand. Flies came out and she brushed them away with her free hand. What a massacre. The man had been turned into shreds. Claw marks and bites all over his body, his clothes in tatters and his black mask ripped up. The attack looked recent. His blood was still flowing and his body wasn’t that cold.

And suddenly he moved, taking a huge breath that almost scared Artemis who backed down with a curse.

“ Help me.” he begged trying to reach out for her.           
“ Where did she go?” she asked firmly                  
“ It hurts … It hurts like hell.” he cried out

Then, Artemis heard a noise behind her, something that sounded like a growl and then she understood. Back when she was living with the Amazons she had seen how to trap the biggest animals of the island. You take a bait, place in a place with only one way out, wait for the prey to come and then you corner it and kill it.      
But today she was not the hunter. She was the hunted, the prey. And she was cornered. She had fallen head first into a trap.

She seized her axe and waited for the predator to appear, on her guard, her hands tensed on the stick, ready to strike.

“ Come on! Get out the shadow. Let’s end this”

The creature appeared at the end of the alley but from where Artemis stood it was impossible for her to discern anything but a mere dark female silhouette and a pair of glowing yellow eyes, full of wit and mischief.

“ I can’t believe Black Mask actually sent an Amazon after me.”             
“ Surprise”  
“ I appreciate the man’s despair but you… you have stooped so low. Wonder Woman would be disappointed in you. I thought Amazons were independent strong warriors not mercenaries.”  
“ We are and if I do this it’s because Black Mask has something that belongs to me”                  
“ I hope for you it’s worth it then … because it’s going to cost you your life.” Artemis gritted her teeth and tensed her hand even more on her axe.                
“ Before you die in an excruciating pain I wanted to say to you. You were not the one I expected to see”  
“ Trust me I’m above all your expectations ”    
“ No … but I delight with this fight in advance. I was tired of Black Mask’s simple-minded lackeys”  
“ Are you done talking? Shall we fight now?”     
“ Yes dear we shall” she replied with a satisfied smile               

And that was it. Artemis started running towards the Shapeshifter ready to cut her in a half with her axe just to have to pleasure to end this quick and shut her up once and for all. But she was fast and agile and just dodge the weapon with a single leap. She landed on her hands and feet behind the Amazon.

“ That’s the thing with heavy weapon. They are always hard to brandish. That’s why I don’t use any”  
“ I would love to see how you’re going to kill me with those manicured nails of yours”              
“ You like them?”

She was playing with her, enraging her just to make her lose control and stop thinking strategically, trying to prove once more that agility and brain are better than muscles and strength.  
And she was definitely calling the tune. Her speed and graceful acrobatics performed with an astonishing easiness were enough to destabilize Artemis. She was moving from right to left, up to down, forcing the Amazon to swing her axe restlessly.               
But then she disappeared in silence, leaving Artemis almost breathless and confused.

“ You’re wasting my time! Stop this game and fight!”  
“ I thought you would love it”

Artemis jumped to where the sound came but nothing. She circled the area with her eyes, trying to find her in the darkness.

“You’re a coward you know that, crouched in the shadow. Are you afraid to face me?”             
“No”

Artemis looked up just in time to see the girl jumping on her from the top of the fire escape, her glowing killer eyes on her, her body turning into its beast form. Now was the time. Black Mask wanted her head. Well, she was about to spare him the chore to cut it off himself. This fight was now personal. Now was the time. The beast was now at her reach, its white fur dishevelled, its fangs out. It was gigantic and impressive but not enough to make Artemis back down. Now was the time.

Or not …

All of a sudden, the sound of a gunshot echoed like a thunder in the alley. A bullet pierced the air, hit the mark with an incredible precision, right in the joint of the animal’s back leg, a non lethal wound but an incapacitating one nonetheless. The creature fell on Artemis who pushed it away against the street lamp behind her with a superhuman strength. She hit it with full force, bending it like a mere wire before falling on the ground with a squeal of pain.    
The gunner dropped his gun and put it back in his holster before running towards the animal that was crawling on the ground, stunned and wounded, but Artemis stopped him.

“ Are you proud of yourself?” She yelled                
“ “Hey Red Hood thank you for your help” ” Jason said imitating the Amazon’s voice                  
“ I didn’t need your help. I was handling this.”                  
“ Didn’t look like it. From behind my gun sights it looked as if she was about to kill you”  
“ You mean I was about to kill her … But you couldn’t prevent yourself from interrupting and stealing the show.”     
“ What are you talking about Artemis? I only did this to save you.”      
“ No you did this in order to stay on Black Mask’s good sides so stop pretending you care about me. And now thanks to you your ‘boss’ will never give me back my bow, you selfish little boy!”       
“ Because you truly think he would have kept his word?”

She didn’t answer. No way she would agree with him on this. There was too much pride in her to so. But her silence was enough for Jason though he chose not to rub it in.                 
The sound of cracking bone came out from the darkest corner of the alley.

“ Oh I don’t like this” Jason confessed, his hand back on his gun             
“ Coward”

Still cranky, Artemis approached the Shapeshifter dragging her out from the shadows by her wounded leg making her cry in pain. She was now under the dim flickering streetlight, motionless and above all, human.

“ You don’t feel so smart now, do you?” Artemis asked with pride “Now let’s finish this”          
“ Artemis!” Jason screamed “Enough… She’s beaten”

He came closer to the girl before stopping abruptly when he noticed how fragile she was looking. She was laid on the ground fighting to go back on her feet, her knee was bleeding and she was shivering with pain and anger. Red Hood took off his leather camel jacket and placed it on her feminine naked body as delicately as he could. She gasped and almost scratched him in the process.

“ Easy” Jason Todd gently told her with his arms outstretched, showing her the palms of his hands to allow her to see he was not going to harm her. But she remained edgy, her eyebrows furrowed as she was looking at him through the messy and wet strands of her white hair, her big green-grey eyes filled with rage and hatred.

He tried to carry her but she suddenly growled at him like an enraged creature. The yell was half human half animal and she was showing him her long prominent sharp fangs. She was glaring at him with her now glowing animalistic gold eyes. She could have scared him only if she hadn’t look so pitiful and terrified like a trapped animal.

“ I’m sorry but this is not personal” He confessed with compassion     
“ For me it is” Artemis claimed before knocking her out with a strong punch


	5. It All Began With A Spark

“ Did you recover from your “bonding moment” with Bizarro?” Black Mask asked        
“ My body is covered with bruises but eh I guess it could have been worth.”                   
“ You were very impressive though, so intuitive”            
“ It was either that or die so … let’s say I didn’t have a choice”               
“ Anyway let’s toast to that”

Black Mask took a mouthful of his finest red wine as Jason looked at him still on his guard. He was way too nice to his taste and he didn’t like it.

“ You’re rather quiet, Red”         
“ I was wondering. What happened to the girl, the shapeshifter?”

Black Mask put down his glass with a chuckle, not surprised by the question at all.

“ She’s alive … for now. Do you care about her?”             
Jason remained silent for a slight moment before finally saying “I’m just curious that’s it”   
“ Alright. Though if you were, I would not blame you. Beautiful women like her always know their way to men’s hearts. That’s why I don’t waste my time with any.”      
“ I don’t know what you are talking about”        
“ Oh come on. You bridal-carried her back here wrapped in your own jacket and you expect me to believe that she doesn’t matter to you”                                 
“ She doesn’t matter to me. I was just being a gentleman, like I’ve been taught. British way I supposed. Couldn’t bring her here naked”     
“ It wouldn’t have bothered me at all”

Jason furrowed his eyebrows and slightly gritted his teeth. He hated that kind of men: misogynist and abusive, viewing women as mere toys just good to satisfy men’s sexual impulse. Jason knew that women were not that at all and that they could be men’s equals if not sometimes superiors. And he had so many examples in his mind: Batgirl, Starfire, Wonder Woman, Essence, Talia and now Artemis. Was it being a feminist? No, it was being realistic. But hell, call it how you want.

“ And now what?”            
“ I don’t know yet. Still thinking about the best way to make her suffer. But perhaps you can help”

He took the little bell on the table in his hand, the one to call the butler and rang it. Two of Black Mask’s men entered the room. They were dragging the Shapeshifter by her arms forcing her to follow them as she was struggling to escape their grip.

“ Leave me alone!” she growled. But they didn’t listen and made her kneel on the floor.        
“ No!” Jason got up shouting “ That wasn’t part of my job”        
“ Your job is to obey me, Red. Besides you don’t care about her you said it yourself”

He didn’t reply and stared at her, worried and sorry. She caught his look, her light green eyes glaring at him before looking at Black Mask with an even more defying and scornful look.

“ So much hate in such beautiful eyes ”                                 
“ Yeah I’ve been told that before. Find something new” she spat          
“ And a sharp tongue. Perhaps I should cut it first”        
“ If you aren’t scared of losing few fingers go for it.” she threatened her eyes suddenly glowing gold

The man laughed at everyone’s surprise even Jason’s.

“Oh I wouldn’t do that. See the charming collar you’re wearing? It’s an electrified one though I have to admit I should have perhaps programmed it to prevent you from barking… Piss me off and your pretty head goes boom.”         
The amber shade in her eyes intensified. “ Sorry, but pissing off people is like my second name”  
He smiled one more time and drew a tiny remote from his pocket. “As you wish.” he says pressing the button.

Tiny sparks came out of the collar. She fell on the floor yelling and convulsing under the power of the discharge, trying to take the collar off her neck.

“No! Stop!” Jason yelled              
“What did you say?”      
“ We still don’t know why she did what she did. Kill her now and you’ll never get answers”   
“Fair enough” Black mask removed his finger from the button and the girl took a deep breath, her body still shivering. “Let’s do this then. You tell me what you want from me and I’ll end you quickly. Keep being impudent and stubborn and I’ll make it truly hurt. Now talk”        
She remained silent for a while before finally saying with a satisfied smile “ I wanted your attention and now I have it”       
“Why?”                  
“Heard about your big plan for Gotham. I want to be part of it”               
“ Why would a girl like you be so interested in Gotham?”          
“ Gotham is my city. I was born here. Spent quite a lot of time in East End when I was younger”           
“ When people want me to hire them they don’t kill my men and blow my cargos.”    
“ I’m not most people. I have my ways … Come on, don’t you realise how much you would gain having me as an ally? In less than a week, I burnt your precious cargo and took your men down along with it as well as those in the club and in that filthy short-time hotel”                 
“ Short-time hotel?” Jason asked with concern                
“ Oops. You haven’t found them yet?” she asked sarcastically “Come on Sionis, don’t lie to me by telling me that deep down I don’t impress you”

Sionis leaned on the table and took his glass of wine in his hand before drinking from it his eyes still on the girl. “ You’re a bold one, aren’t you?”

She smirked and he waved her to stand up. She obeyed adjusting the jacket that Jason had given her and that she still was wearing -which was actually the only thing she was wearing. She had a slender feminine build, with long smooth legs that would drive any man crazy and any girl jealous. But Jason knew, for having seen it, that those legs were strong enough to kick someone’s ass. After all, who knows what would have happened to Artemis if he hadn’t intervened.

“ How bold?”      
“ Haven’t met someone bolder yet”      
“ You want to work for me?”       
“ Is that a proposal?”    
“ No, more of a job interview. You see, even though I must admit that you’re quite impressive, kitten, I didn’t appreciate you screwing up my business. So I can’t really make up my mind on whether I should give you a chance by my side or kill you. Therefore, this is what I propose: a one on one combat”

She frowned smelling a subterfuge and looked at Jason to read him. Their eyes met for a short instant and she realised that his reaction was similar to hers. She stared back at Black Mask with suspicion. “What’s the catch?”             
“ There is no catch and I’m afraid this is your only way out of your cell”              
“ Which means two options: I’ll be out of my cell a) alive and with a job or b) dead in a coffin, right?”  
“ I’ll add c) alive but in a vegetative state”         
“ Yeah which send me back to b) dead in a coffin”          
“ I thought you were the boldest.”          
“ I’m bold, not suicidal ”               
“ So let just go directly to option B”

He grabbed the remote in his black-gloved hand again, this time very slowly. Jason held his breath. His pulse accelerated, fearing the worst, and instinctively he put his hand on his holster ready to shoot at Roman Sionis. Screw this mission. Screw his promise to Batman. Nobody else had to die by the hand of this psycho. He slowly opened the holster. The girl heard the slight click of the push button in her ear and discreetly glanced at Jason surprised the vigilante would dare shoot the man for her.

“Alright!” she claimed “ I’ll do it! It’s not like I have much of a choice.”              
With a sadistic smile Black Mask put the remote back down “ I’m glad”            
And Jason moved slowly his hand away from the holster, his respiration going back to normal. She glanced at him once more with a slight frown, not thankful at all for the sacrifice he had been ready to make for her. “You’re welcome” Jason said inaudibly with sarcasm.

“ I want one thing however” she dared order   
“ What’s that?”                 
“ A shower and clothes … and the chance to get in shape before the fight”      
“ You’re scared then”    
“ No I just don’t trust you”          
“ Fair enough. Requests accepted … Bring her back to her cell” He ordered his minions. One grabbed her my the arm but she quickly kicked him and made him fall on the ground “I can walk without someone holding me.” She growled before looking at Jason with a mocking smile “Oh and my knee’s almost all healed up. Thanks for asking”

He smiled at her, amused. What a woman!


	6. Monsters and Us

“ Oh you’re back” Artemis complained, “Here I was hoping they would have sent you to be slaughtered in some dark alley or something”           
“ Sorry Xena you’ll have to bear my presence a little bit longer”          

Artemis roared as the men working for Black Mask locked the shapeshifter in the cell next to hers.

“ I swear to the goddesses, if you howl to the moon like last night I’ll go out of my cell to strangle you”  
“ I’d like to see you try”                 
“ Don’t tempt me” As an answer the girl cleared her throat to warm up her voice.“ You are a pain in the ass, do you know that?”   
“ Can I ask you something?”       
“ No because right now I just want to ignore you being here”                   
“ I’ll ask anyway. The question was just to be polite.” Artemis sighed, rolling her eyes. “ Why are you down here while your friend is up there having some lobsters with Black Mask?”        
“ My friend?”      
“ You know. The mysterious yet terribly sexy son of a bitch who shot me.”       
“ He is not my friend. He is rather a liability”    
“ Well if I learned something from life friends are often liabilities”      
“ That is exactly the kind of bitter statement a little girl with no friends to play with at the playground would say”                   
“ Well I guess you’re half right, but from what I can see you seem to be quite a loner too”  
“ How would you know that?”   
“ Well judging by the way you behave, so independent and confident and badass – don’t take it as a compliment - " Artemis smiled slightly “and this consuming obsession you have over a bow which makes me think you must have travelled a long journey to find it, something tells me you’re not the kind of woman who has nor the time or the will for friendship… ”

Artemis remained silent remembering the age she had that and how it had vanished in one simple day, the day she was forced to put an end to Akila’s life, her sister in arm, her best friend, her soul mate.

“ You know I was being serious when I said I’ll strangle you”   
“ I’m sure you were ” the girl smiled “I’m [Y/N] by the way”       
“ Like I care”       
“ And you are?” The Amazon hesitated before finally replying “Artemis”           
“ Nice to meet you”        
“ Pleasure’s not mutual”

The girl chuckled before hearing some footsteps coming closer to her cell. She looked up and saw that Black Mask’s men were back. “Come on bitch, it’s time”                   
Artemis raised an eyebrow as the men opened the door of the neighbour cell. “Where are they taking you?” She smiled at her. “Like you care, Xena”

Escorted by both men, she thought about how easy it would be to escape for a second, still not reassured about what she would encounter outside of this prison area. But she reconsidered. She had a mission. Fleeing now would certainly jeopardize everything and she’ll end up dead for her failure. At least, perhaps here, she would have a chance to survive. All she had to do was relying on her abilities and being smart.

She arrived to a large metallic and Plexiglas door. She looked through it and noticed her opponent. He was as huge as a mountain with scruffy dark hair and a greyish skin but there was worth. He was wearing a costume everyone who has walked on his earth and elsewhere would recognize among thousands – a superman costume. She gasped, appalled and concerned. She would have never expected this.

Not far away, someone else had the very same look. Red Hood was staring at Bizarro, worried and angry with Black Mask.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. How do you want her to come out of a fight against Bizarro alive?”  
“I don’t want her to” Black Mask admitted.

Jason gritted his teeth and watched as the girl entered the room, her clenched fists slightly trembling, and a palpable anxiety in her features.  

Bizarro was still and focused on his so-called pup-pup, making it fly in the air as any child would, imitating the sound of the wind. She was still too, intrigued yet terrified by the creature before her, wondering how Black Mask could have put his dirty hands on something like that and how she would come out of this room alive.      
She gulped and he heard that. He turned his head quickly towards her looking at her with suspicion, his nostrils moving as if he was smelling her. But what he as actually smelling was her fear as a dog meeting a stranger for the first time.

“ Stop this. This is insane. If you want her dead, just kill her with a bullet between her eyes and that’s it ” Jason yelled at Black Mask behind the window.               
“ No, I need to test what I bought and Bizarro is thirsty for her blood”                                   
“ Why would he be?”     
“ I implanted faked data on her in his brain. He thinks she’s an enemy of Superman.”               
“ You did what?”

Bizarro stood up, towering her as she remained still.                 

“ You don’t have to do this. I’m not your …” His strong hand slapped her and sent her flying across the room with a scream of pain. She shook her head, stunned by how powerful the punch had been and unable to get up since everything around her seemed to move in circle.

“Holly sh…” Bizarro approached her and seized her by the neck. Her feet were not touching the ground anymore and she felt lacking her breath.                

“Stop it” she whispered her hands clenched on his. She tried to crush his hand with hers digging her nails in his flesh to make him release her but his skin was as thick as steel it just felt like a tiny tickle. He, however, felt surprise by her attempt to hurt him and threw her again across the room right against the Plexiglas window which instantly shattered in thousands of pieces. Some of her ribs broke as sandpaper and god knows how hard they were to break.      

“ Alright that actually hurt. But I can handle it ”               
“ She am monster”          
“ Monster?”

She growled, hurt by the insults and he charged her like a buffalo. With a single leap, she jumped over him before landing on her hands and feet. Bizarro heard her wounded knee crack as she fell on the ground.

“No catch, hum?” But this question was not for Bizarro but for Black Mask. The man grinned as Red Hood still worried clenched his fits cursing behind his teeth. “What are you waiting for stupid monster kill her now!”          

Bizarro looked at him with certain sadness in his blues eyes that [Y/N] noticed and could relate with. And perhaps that rebuke would be her way out from this mess alive.

“You’re no monster” He glanced at her with small tears in his eyes. “He is” she pointed her finger at him “He is for manipulating you, using you, messing with your mind because it’s what he’s doing, isn’t it?”          
“KILL HER!”         
“ I know how you feel. You feel like an outcast. You’re angry and you’re sad but you’re no monster. You’ve just been deceived by _him_. He is the monster ”                
“ Bizarro am monster”                   
“ Why? Because you’re different than all the others? Because you’re not Superman?” He didn’t reply but he relaxed somehow “ This doesn’t make you a monster. Being different does not make you what he says you are. Look at me” She stared at him with sudden inhuman golden glowing eyes “I’m like you. I’m different and I’ll be damned if I let myself think for one second that I’m a monster. I won’t think that. Not anymore. Because being different makes be unique and what is unique is beautiful because it’s rare”. She took his hand and she smiled at him with a disarming compassion that rendered the clone as soft as a teddy bear. She sat down and so did he, looking at her with a different look, a thankful one. He was calm. He was peaceful.            
“ Bizarro am no monster.”           
“No” she whispered with a sweet smile              
“And she no monster”

Behind the window, Jason was looking at them, relieved and impressed but most of all profoundly touched by her kind words. How many times had he wished for someone to tell him the same things when madness had made do the unthinkable?

“ Send men in that cell. Kill her” Black Mask yelled       
“ She won your deal. What about your speech on honor?” Red Hood replied                   
“ She won nothing. She tricked him, deceived him. There was no fight”              
“ Yes there was. She battled with his mind. She won fairly. And besides now you know that someone is able to face your superman clone and get away from it alive. Wouldn’t it be nice to have her by your side instead of against you?”    
Black Mask growled, annoyed “ You’re a smart one son. I appreciate you. And though you may be right on that don’t ever act the you did again or I’ll get rid of you for good”


	7. Trust Goes Both Ways

“ Is the plan in motion?” a male voice said behind the phone                  
“ I encountered some … difficulties, but yes.” She said looking by the window of the bedroom she had been given. It screamed “real thugs of Gotham city” with its dark tapestries and its grotesque - yet definitely expensive - massive wooden furniture and its portraits hung on the walls that had probably been stolen in a museum.              
“ Difficulties?”  
“ You told me about the Tamaranian and the archer. That I could have handled. But an Amazon and a Superman Clone… it won’t be a piece of cake. I need time.”    
“ Well you don’t. Our master is getting impatient.”      
“ I won’t be able to bring the Red Hood back to him if I’m dead. I need to play smart and to do so I need time. If he wants things to go faster he can send someone else. I will be glad to be replaced.”  
“ The Red Hood knows all of us. Only you can achieve this mission.”   
“ So you’ll tell Ra’s Al Ghul that I will take my time, Ben”          

Ben Turner, aka Bronze Tiger, elite member of the League Of Assassins, favoured by The Demon’s Head, Ra’s Al Gul, a man who has thirsted revenge on Jason Todd since he beat him back during a fight against the Untitled in the sacred city of ‘Eth Alth’Eban, the Serpent’s nest, the place [Y/N] grew up in as a teenager under Bronze Tiger’s guidance and his harsh teachings.

“ I never taught you to be so defying. At least I hope you only need this time to succeed this mission and not for some personal interests that would jeopardize your assignment” She blinked as flashes of some old dark memories passed before her eyes. _Darkness, snow, rope, blood_.        
“ Bye Ben”

She hung back and placed her phone on the old gilding dressing table next to her, her furrowed eyes staring at her own reflection, hearing some weird yet familiar voices in her head, voices from a distant past she could never forget. “ _Overdose_ ”. “ _Suicide_ ”. “ _Orphan_ ”. “ _Arkham_ ”.                
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door that pulled her out from her living nightmare. She approached it, on her guard, and opened it slightly to reveal Jason on the doorstep.

“ What do you want?” she asked coldly                
“ Make sure you were okay.”     
She frowned “ Why do you care? After all you’re the reason why I’m here”      
“ Well, if I recall correctly, you wanted to be here”     

She opened the door fully to let him come in which surprised him. After all, this simple visit was just pure courtesy, nothing else. However he entered and looked at the room with a grin.

“ Ah, I’m not the only one who had the pleasure to wake up in a creepy old room”      
“ I’m not going to stay”                  
“ Going somewhere?”   
“ Yeah” she replied heading towards the mirror to examine her wound. Jason took a look at the loose bandage around her breast and ribs. “You should tighten it. It won’t heal if you let it like that. Here let me.”        
“ Mind your business, okay?” She almost growled, shooting him a dirty look through the mirror. Jason complied and remained still as she began to adjust her bandage with a lot of difficulty, her hands desperately trying to unknot the band in her back. She was getting angry. But her stubbornness prevented her from giving up or asking for help.        
“ Alright stop it. You’re going to hurt yourself even more”

Jason approached her and seized the tips of the knot between his fingers. She had a quick animalistic rictus, gritting her teeth and giving the young man a death stare for a second before relaxing and accepting reluctantly his helping hand. He untied the knot and removed slowly the bandage until it revealed her breast. He tried to look away for an instant, shaking his head cursing himself internally but his eyes fixed upon her bust again, staring at her smooth-like skin, the perfect curves of her perky breasts and her rosy nipples.

“Are you going to put the fucking bandage back on or are you going to keep staring at me?”  
He cleared his throat trying to keep his composure and start rolling the bandage around her chest. “It’s not like I’ve never seen them”     
“I know. I saw the way you looked at me that night … with your gorgeous blue eyes clouded with desire.”    
“ It wasn’t desire” He said pulling the bandage tightly. The pressure on her rib cage made her moan. “But I’m glad you think that my eyes are gorgeous” She chuckled “ What was it then?”                  
Jason stared at her in the mirror. “Compassion I suppose, because I was sorry.”        
“ For what? Shooting me in the knee? Don’t worry. I’ve known worse”. She gritted her teeth. She was playing tough but he knew from the look on her face and her tensed abs that that wound was hurting like hell.        
“You were lucky. It could have been worse than that”                  
“I’m aware of that. Thank you for stating the obvious” Jason smiled “You’re not the first one to say that.” He finally tied the tips into a strong knot “That should be better”

She looked at him in the mirror and gave him a faint yet sincere thankful smile.

“ May I ask you something?” She demanded turning around to face him            
“ Sure”  
“ What is the purpose of this little game you’re playing with Black Mask?”      
“ What game?” He asked his eyes tinted with sudden seriousness      
“ Come on. You may be able to brilliantly fool him but I can tell when someone is playing a game.”  
“ There’s no game” She shrugged, unconvinced and walked past him. “You didn’t tell me where you were going.”  
“You didn’t ask.” She said putting her grey tank top on. “Sure I did”     
“No you said ‘going somewhere?’ which doesn’t mean ‘where are you going?’. And besides since you don’t want to tell me what you’re up to with Sionis why the hell would I tell you where I go?”             
“ How do I know I can trust you?”             
“ So you’re admitting you’re up to something” He tried to reply but remained silent “ It’s fine Hood, I am up to something too” She whispered with a smile, looking right into his eyes. “Tell me about you. I’ll tell you about me.”               
“ Why not the other way around?” He smiled satisfied                
“ Wow you really don’t trust me”            
“No” She sighed, “Fine, if you wish… I’m here to kill him” she murmured in his ears.

Jason frowned at the reveal, surprised as she moved away from him with a cheeky smile seizing one of his guns in her hand, catching him off guard. “Hey. What the fuck? Give it back”                   
“ You know I’ve never used a gun. It’s heavier than I thought. Does it make things easier?”   
“ Let’s say faster. Now give it back” Red Hood approached trying to take his Beretta back from her but she kept it aiming at the portrait in the room.         
“ What are you going to do with those? Except shooting random innocent girls in the street” She closed one eye pretending to shoot.         
“ I don’t shoot innocent girls. I protect them.” He finally grabbed it and put it back in its holster. “Are you implying that your friend Xena is an innocent girl?” Jason laughed slightly at the nickname “She needed me though she’ll never admit it. ”           
“ So you shot me to protect her. How sweet.”                   
“ I would have done otherwise if I could have.”  She turned around and slowly put a hand flat on his chest “Such a bat boy’s morals” He stared at her fingers tracing the red bat symbol on his Kevlar suit, not knowing how to react to her sudden proximity.      
“I’m no bat boy. That symbol is just to piss off Batman”.            
“ I don’t believe you” she whispered “ In fact, I think it’s because of the Big Bad Bat that Black Mask isn’t dead …”

She came even closer, so close he could almost feel her body against his. He remained as straight as he could and suddenly caught her hands as she began to feel his pectorals underneath her palms.  
“ Do you suffer from bipolarity?” He asked with a frown.             
“ Why would you say that?”       
“ Two minutes ago you didn’t want me to touch you and now you lay against me like that?”                   
“ Like what?” Her voice was low and sexy as if she was purring.             
“ You know”        
“ No, I’m not bipolar.” She smiled cheekily “But I may be using my charms to make you tell me what you’re hiding.”         
“ You don’t need to”       
“ I know but it’s better to do so.”           

Jason frowned even more, trying to decipher the mystery that this girl was, trying to read her, understand her, to know what, who, she truly was behind those mischievous games of hers.

“ Believe me, it’s not that I don’t want to kill Black Mask. I’ve been itching to fill his BDSM face with lead. But I made a promise.”   
“ I understand. I know what is it to have a mentor breathing down your neck”               
“ I thought you were a lone wolf”             
“ A lone wolf with a leash yeah. Just to pull me back home when I’m needed”                
“ What does he think about your plan for Black Mask? ”              
“ He’s opposed. He thinks I should, could, have done otherwise”           
“ One thing we have in common”             
“ Oh we have more than one thing in common I’m sure. For instance, what are you up to tomorrow night?”  
“ Eh … Are you asking me on a date?”    
“ That depends. Do you consider sabotaging Black Mask’s business a date?”                 
“ When do I pick you up?” He asked with a crooked grin.


	8. Hunting With The Wolf

Gotham City has always been the playground of the most infamous black masked two faced mad hatters type of criminal, some being vilest than others, but all considering the night as the perfect way to cloak their crimes. Robberies, prostitution, drug dealing, illegal weapon traffic, so many felonies, so many lawlessness that the police can't handle on its own.

And that is why Gotham at night became the playground of bats and birds, why now a dark knight and his colourful sidekicks fight to bring justice in this crime-infested city. But tonight, one fallen red bird is teaming up with another kind of animal, way bigger and way more callous. A wolf.

“ What do you see?” [Y/N] asked Jason who was looking at a dock through his night vision binoculars  
“ Four men around the car, five others examining the dock and a van that looks way too suspicious”   
“ Are they armed?”          
“ A real armoury. Way too much to watch a simple drug transaction. It’s not gonna be easy to take them down with discretion”      
“ Then we’ll do this loud. No problem”                   
“ Easy!” He caught her arm in his firm leather-gloved hand to prevent her from rushing headlong  
“ They certainly have back up awaiting somewhere”    
“ So?”      
“ So let’s find out where, study the environment.”         
“ If you're scared you can stay right here and keep a lookout. Looks like you're rather good at it”  
Jason sighed and grabbed her by the arm as she tried to leave their hideout again. She kneeled back next to him. “What?”                
“ I agreed to do this with you because this is the kind of cause I fight for …”

She had learned about an important drug transaction with some mafia family that Black Mask had planned at the docks in Gotham’s harbour. Worth thousands of dollars apparently. But who knows how much it would be resold in the Narrows, and how many victims it could cause, how many families it would break, how many children like Jason Todd it would create.                 
It had been her idea but it hadn’t been hard to convince the Red Hood to intervene. Personal relatable matter.

“ …but I was clear” He continued “We do this my way …”           
“ Yeah yeah or the big bad bat will kick your butt and send us both to Blackgate. I know. You may be scared of him but I'm not”          
“ That's certainly the kind of thing someone who hasn't met Batman would say. Trust me you'll change your mind when you see him, like I did… And by the way, it’s miracle it hasn't happened yet.”   
“ I’m not easy to find.”                    
“ I found you”      
“ Because I wanted you to. Trust me Red Hood, I'm no amateur … after all, I have spotted the sniper right on the crane over there.” She raised his binoculars with her fingertips to show him the man hidden high up in the shadow of the crane cabin.                 
Jason was impressed but also upset not to have seen it first. “ How did you …?”           
“ Don't need some fancy military binoculars. I have a wonderful natural night vision.” She smiled at him with her sudden glowing yellow eyes so proud of herself.                    
“ If you’re so good, why ask me to come then?”                 
“ Wanted to show you you could trust me … and I thought you could be of some use. Clearly I was wrong about that part.”

She shrugged, as he looked at her clearly annoyed though he didn't show it or respond. Instead he grabbed his duffle bag and took out a type of silent rifle he immediately aimed at the sniper on the crane. “You’re going to kill him? Careful of the big bad bat, Red Hood!” He didn't pay attention and just shot directly in the man’s neck who eventually fell nearly two seconds after against the cabin. “Syringer rifle. The guy is going to take a huge nap. Am I still useless?”       
She smiled at him “Impressive. Now what?”     
“ We need a distraction, something to gather the men on the dock, some strategic place to take them down. Then we need to take care of that van. The thing is I don’t know what is inside. Could be were they have the drug but who knows if there aren’t some henchmen inside … which leaves the rest of the plan completely unsure.”       
“ I have an idea about that van but I guess I could use some back up, someone to cover me just in case.”   
“ I can do that. What's the plan?”             
“ If I can get close to than van I will be able to smell what's inside. It will allow us to evaluate the danger and act in consequence.”                
“ I’m in. So first the men on the dock then …”   
“ No the van first.”            
“ What? No! It's too dangerous. You're crazy.”                   
“ Ooh you care for me.”                  
“ I don’t want you to die on me. Sorry about that.”         
“ Look. I'm going to go to that freaking van, close the back doors, pull down the handbrake and hide. The van will slowly slide towards the sea, luring the men on the dock and that’s when I’ll take them out... with discretion and no-killing obviously”             
“ [Y/N] I don’t think you’ll …”       
“ Listen Red. I know you can cover me. I trust you. Now, do you trust me?”

Intrigued, he remained still and quiet, staring at the girl in front of him who was looking back at him with softness and calm in her eyes, wondering why … how … she - who he barely knew - could trust him and not his own mentor, his family.

He eventually nodded. “Fine. I give you a chance. But what do we do for the men by the car?”               
“I leave that to you. Surely you can take care of them” She winked and stood up before he grabbed her hand once more “Wait! Take this” He handed her an earpiece “So that we can stay in contact”. She smiled slightly but sincerely before climbing down the container and heading to the van, her thin silhouette hiding perfectly in the darkness.

His eyes wide open and in a state of alert, Jason was watching her surroundings but she was definitely very good and quiet. It took only a few seconds for her to reach the van. She paused by the wheel, closed her eyes and concentrated. She could smell the same drug she had smelt in the train at her arrival in Gotham City and human odours.

“ Someone’s in the van. Probably some henchmen guarding the drugs inside like you said” she whispered.             
“ Great. Now what?”       
“ Let's hope they know how to swim.” She quietly locked the back door before heading slowly to the left front door that she opened slightly to reach for the handbrake. She pressed the button but immediately stopped when she heard her strange click coming from the trunk “I have a bad feeling about this” She climbed on the driver seat to analyse the brake. Few wires were attached to it.

“ Red, I think we might have a problem” She confessed through the earpiece                  
“ What's going on?” He worried.                
“ Well you remember you said you wanted me to be discreet and I suggested to go for loud? Well … ”  
“ Don’t you even think about it”                
“ It’s definitely gonna get loud. I think I just triggered a bomb.”

Jason immediately got up and pulled out his guns from his holsters. “Don’t move. I’m coming”   
“ Well it’s not like I can. If I take my hand off this handbrake there is a high probability that the van goes immediately boom … and me with it”       
“ Try to locate the defusing device. I’m on my way” He took two cartridge clips filled with rubber bullets and loaded his two Berettas before climbing down the container, muttering curses. “You know I can hear you right?”                 
“ Oh I certainly hope so” Jason replied as he was cautiously heading towards her.     
“ It’s not my fault”            
“ It was your plan. ‘I’ll be able to smell what's inside van ... My ass!”        
“ Hey! I’m a wolf not a police dog. I don’t smell bombs!”             
“ It is indeed clear that you need to work on your sense of smell”

She jolted at the rebuke, feeling suddenly a presence behind her. This voice. It wasn’t the Red Hood and she knew somehow who it was. Because it was this voice. This hollow, boomy, husky voice. This voice she had heard so much about. The voice that makes you want to bolt the second you hear it.   
But she did not bolt. She couldn’t because her hand was kind of stuck to that stupid handbrake. Would she have bolted if she had been free to do so? Probably not. But she would have got ready to defend herself for sure.

She turned her head however by curiosity, just to see if stories where right. And God damn it, there were. He was impressive, towering her like a nightmarish figure with his black costume as dark as the night. The Dark Knight. The Batman.


	9. The Bat, The Bird And The Wolf

[Y/N] hadn’t always been bold. In fact, as a child, before becoming a fighter, she was more of the shy introvert kind that would rather let people tread on her feet instead of fighting back. And everyday she thinks that perhaps if she had never been so weak then she would have made different choices and she would have never become the one she was now. But the past is the past. It cannot be change, no matter what. And God knows how much she had wished to do so.  
But now, here she was, a hand on a bomb, her eyes on the broad silhouette of the Batman, thinking how worse it could be.

“ I’d shake your hand but …”

He didn’t reply. Instead he glared at her with an uncomfortable silence.

“Freeze!” A voice nearby yelled “Guys it’s the bat! The bat’s he…” The vigilante immediately threw a batarang at the thug who fell unconscious on the ground.                   
“ Don’t move. I’ll come back for you”    
“Are you all bats dumb or what?”

With an annoyed sigh, she looked at the brake she was still holding tight searching for a way to get away from this mess before someone spots her. “This wasn’t part of the plan”

Not far away, Jason had already entered in action with his two guns loaded with its non-lethal yet quite damaging rubber bullets. Fighting aside Batman, hidden behind some wooden crates, the Red Hood was remembering with certain melancholy the years they used to do that when he was still Robin.

“ This is your way of going places I can’t go?”    
“ Everything was fine until you alerted them.”                  
“ Doubt it. Considering that your partner in crime is stuck in a van with a bomb.”        
“ Partner in crime? I know I’m not the most law-abiding citizen, but a criminal …”       
“ Don’t tell me you didn’t take part in the three recent terrible slaughters in crime-infested places owned by Black Mask with her”              
“ I did not. Low profile. Your city, your rules. I got the message. Can’t believe you doubt me again”  
“ I know you have the tendencies to …”                
“ … cross the line bla-bla-bla. But hey let’s have this awfully annoying redundant conversation later okay?”             

Red Hood threw some flash-bang grenades at the thugs now all gathered and used the gas released to take them down one by one as they were all coughing, blinded and rendered temporarily deaf by the detonation.     
Batman looked at him, feeling some kind of relief and pride as his old Robin was taking care of those criminals with some old moves he had taught him long ago. He eventually entered the smoke to help him.

“Okay [Y/N]. You’ve already defused a bomb once. You can do it again” She whispered to herself following the three colourful wires with her eyes, looking for the device they were connected to. She finally found it hidden behind a seat. **1:54**. “Holy shit.”                  
She took a deep breath but immediately stopped breathing when she heard some faint cries coming from the back of the van. Slowly and carefully, minding not to take her hand of the brake, she glanced by the tiny window behind her and noticed three young women tied up with gags in their mouth. They were terrified. Tears were streaming down their faces and their almost-naked bodies were shivering with fear and cold.

“Red Hood? Do you copy?”          
“Wait.” She heard a punch in her earpiece “Now I’m all yours [Y/N].”                  
“ You have 1:25 to come here and open that fucking van.”        
“ You want me to free the henchmen now? If I do that before defusing the bomb, you’re screwed!”  
“ I’m not asking you to free the henchmen. I’m asking you to free the three poor women stuck in that van”

Jason’s eyes widened and he started running towards the van followed closely by Batman.  
“ I take care of the prisoners. You help your friend” Jason nodded and slammed the door open.  
“ What are you doing here? Help them first.”   
“ Batman’s on it. Where’s the bomb?”                  
“ Below the seat. Hurry! ”

Using the sharp tip of a batarang, Red Hood ripped the seat open to have a larger view on the mechanism. He started to sweat behind his mask as he saw the countdown running **0:42. 0:41. 0:40.** _Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock,_ **“** _Hahahaha heeheehah hoho”._ Jason closed briefly his eyes. He was here. He was back in his head. _“This is what happens when a little bird flies out of his nest too soon hahaha”._ No, not again, not now, not here. _“Consider this a life lesson from your uncle Joker” Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock_ Jason focus damn it! _“Not that you’ll be able to apply it in the minute you have left” Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock_  
“ Red Hood! Red Hood, are you alright?” The voice echoed in his head bringing him back to reality.  
“ Yeah, yeah, I’m fine” He said a bit out of breath           
“ Then diffuse the damn bomb”                
He unplugged the green wire carefully but it didn’t stop the clock. On the contrary, it skipped 20 seconds. **0:12** “What?”    
“Move!” Jason felt Batman catching him by the shoulder and send him away from the van.                   
“ What the fuck? You’re not going to let me here to die, right? Right?” The Dark Knight didn’t respond and instead he took a cryo-capsule from his belt and threw it on the device which froze immediately. **0:02.** The bomb was defused.           
“ Thank God” [Y/N] sighed relieved that this was finally over though she still took her time to release the brake.

She eventually got out of the van only to be closely followed by Batman, himself followed by Jason.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Batman asked her grabbing her arm with a strength that made her grit her teeth           
“None of you god damn business!”        
“ You realise that you screwed everything up?” Jason growled at him                 
“ I screwed things up? Clearly, you were both lucky that I was here otherwise you’ll both be dead by now. And you are going to jail.” He pointed at her threateningly but it was not enough to scare her.  
“ Oh hell no! I’m not going anywhere with you.”              
“ You left a trail of bodies in the entire city and you expect me to let you run free.”    
“ You have no proof”      
“ I’ll soon have some” He glared at her “But in the meantime you’re still coming with me.”  
“ I’d like to see you try” Her eyes suddenly turned yellow and a growl escaped her mouth. But the vigilante remained unimpressed. He had seen and faced shapeshifter before. He tried to grab her arm again but this time Jason got between them, standing on Batman’s way with a defying look.  
“ She’s trying to take down Black Mask, just like I am. She may have killed his henchmen but …”  
“ My city, my rules Red Hood. Whether they were vigilantes or criminals, no one cross that line without facing justice. You know that.”      
“ Yeah, so that explain why Gotham is the city of crime” The girl tried to push Jason aside clearly not appreciating him shielding her from the bat but he didn’t move an inch. Instead he tried to grab her, groping for her as he was still staring at his mentor. “Don’t touch me!” She slapped slightly his hand.  
“ I’ll handle her, Batman”             
“ Not if the analysis reveal who I think she is and they will. And when it’ll happen I’ll come for her and send her straight back to where she should have stayed. I just hope that this day you will return to your senses and won’t stand on my way Red Hood, for your own sake”


	10. Late Night Interrogation

From the tops of the highest buildings, one could picture Gotham City as a good place to live in. No sound except the whistling of the wind blowing softly. Yes from up there, Gotham could pass for the East Coast gem city with her beautiful shining lights which brighten the night sky like thousands stars. But when you look more closely, when you get down on the streets, you realise that the view is merely an illusion, a masquerade, something to cover up the truth, that the city is broken, soiled by criminality and that the light has stop shining a while ago. You don’t live happily ever after in Gotham City, you suffer and die in tremendous pain.

This is something Jason Todd has always known. But still, he stays, watching the people from up here, and he dares to dream of the day his beloved city would gain back her glory just like he used to do when he was a teenager hidden among the gargoyles, alone.

Except that tonight, he’s not alone.

“ You know I think Gotham will never stop surprising me.” Jason confessed as he took a bite in his burger.   
“ Yeah, I agree. It’s not everyday that I end up booby-trapped and that close to blowing up” She greedily sucked her salt-covered greasy fingers, enjoying her well-deserved meal.       
“ Then you’re definitely new on the job.”                               
“ No, I’ve just been away from Gotham for too long to remember how mad this city is.”            
“ Where have you been then?”                  
“ Here and there. Travelling the world …” She stole him a fry as she talked but Jason didn’t complain. After all, he cared little about the food. He only wanted her to confess more things about herself and he had thought that some late night unhealthy takeout would help by not making this conversation too interrogation-y.                
“ On the run?”    
“ On an adventure.” She corrected him with a smile “Never gave the CIA, the FBI, Mi-5 or Interpol the means to track me down”.   
“ What about the GCPD?” She frowned and immediately put down her burger back in its packing as she was about to take another bite. “Neither … But by all means, Redbird, keep asking your questions and I’ll keep pretending not to see where this is going.”

Jason sighed when he realised how vexed and annoyed she was. “Listen [Y/N], I just want to know what Batman meant when he said he’ll send you back “where you should have stayed”?” She got immediately to her feet with a sigh.             
“ Of course you do ... How naïve of me to think we could just have some nice burgers and fries after a long night of hard work”           
“ You don’t answer my question.” He stood up as well but when he felt the anger growing in her voice he decided to do his best to remain calm and still in order not to make her feel oppressed and to give her some space.   
“ Why would I? You haven’t told me anything about you, not even your name, so why would I tell you a damn thing about my past?” He didn’t reply but he could definitely understand her point of view. “Trust goes both ways, Red. And since you’re not willing to give me yours …”             
He narrowed the space between them, pointing at her with a threatening finger. “Hey! I put my fucking life between your hands tonight and look where it almost led us!”   
_Too angry Jason, too angry, calm down._ But that was the thing with Jason Todd. He was not known for his ability to keep his cool. On the contrary, a simple irritation or a false accusation was enough to make him boil over in a snap. The result of years of living on his own in the streets certainly. And he had always been conscious of that, even back in the days he was still Robin. Batman had pointed out his anger issues to him and had tried to help him control his temper, in vain. Apparently, you can take the kid out of Crime Alley but not the other way around.  

“ Oh come on, don’t lecture me, Redbird. How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?”              
“ You didn’t say you were sorry” He snarkily declared.                  
“ That doesn’t mean I didn’t mean it … Wow, that’s a lot of “mean” in the same sentence”   
“ Can’t you be serious for a minute, for fuck’s sake?”    
“ No, I can’t because someone needs to cheer up the mood a little bit since you’re too focused on being Batman’s little flunkey!” The rebuke stung a bit. Yes he was playing by Batman’s rules but he hated it and it sure as hell wasn’t making him Bruce’s puppet.                
“ By all means, say it louder!” He yelled at her with some wild gesture.             
“ We’re on a rooftop in the middle of the night. No one can hear us. And even if somebody could, what would it change? I’m sure you’ve already given yourself away with Black Mask… **Robin**.”

Jason’s blue eyes immediately widened, and he stared at her confused and rattled. “ How long have you known?”                  
She always knew. Bronze Tiger had told her so much about that outlaw who had defeated the Demon’s head. And after seeing him in action tonight, she even began to put two and two together concerning few suspicions she had. But she couldn’t tell him that so she did what she was assigned to. She lied.           
“ Not long and it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Seeing you fight was more than enough to guess it. You still make the same old Robin moves you used to make in the past.”            
“ How would you know my Robin moves?”           
“ Because I saw them. Plus, does Batman organize a casting or post a classified ad on the Gotham Gazette? Because seriously, you Robins all look the same!” She cleared her voice taking a male low tone “ Looking for a dark haired blue eyed little boy willing to risk his life every night and ready to be arrested by the fashion police at any moment for wearing green shorts that are way too tiny and pixie boots … oh and who would agree to be called after a stupid bird””

Jason gritted his teeth with a frown, trying to put up with the mockery though the part about the tiny short and the pixie boots was rather correct. “Well if you knew more about the Robins, then you would know that we aren’t alike, at all. The first one is a fucking Mr Perfect, the epitome of the Boy Wonder, the last one an arrogant brat full of himself and the only reason why I will not criticize the third one is because I want him to stay in peace wherever he is now” ( ~~see Detective Comics Rebirth #940~~ ).           
“And you are the Bat’s lapdog.” She weighed him up “Admit it, those guns are just for show! You fancy yourself an independent vigilante, an outlaw, but what have you done except following the crazy law-and-order shit of an old enlightened man?”     
“ You don’t know who I am!” He snarled, his body towering her in an impressive way and his menacing eyes full of anger looking deeply into hers that were rather defying.                    
“ That’s exactly my point!” She replied reproachfully with a sigh before looking away from Jason, annoyed. He did the same.

Calm was suddenly back on the rooftop but both could feel the adrenaline still rushing down their veins as they were both still heated by this argument.                
“ This team up thing was a stupid idea.” She spat not willing to look at him     
“ Yeah it definitely was.” But he dared to look at her. Her face was all flushed and she was still sporting this frown, the same one a pouting child would have on his face after a tantrum but somehow Jason found this quite cute on her, sexy even.                 
When she felt his stare on her, she glanced at him. “What? Why are looking at me like that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /!\ Next chapter will be SMUT /!\ 
> 
> Online Sunday, 13th
> 
> In the meantime I'd really like to know your thoughts on the story and how you imagine the next chapters. 
> 
> Leave that in the comment section


	11. Heated Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: SMUT ! ;-)

Jason had studied so many things to measure up with Grayson and to impress Batman when the vigilante took him under his wing: mathematics, physics, chemistry and even everything to be a reference in criminology. He had actually loved this and had soon wanted to learn more, developing a sudden passion for philosophy, psychology and literature.                
But what you read in books and what you experience are two different things. It’s the abstract and the reality. You cannot become the warrior depicted in Sun Tzu’s _Art Of War_ if you don’t apply his writings. You can’t really understand why, in _The Confessions,_ the spank French Philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau received from Mademoiselle Lambercier when he was 8 was a sexual awakening responsible for his crappy relationship with women and his tendencies for masochism unless you somehow lived the same thing. Knowledge is acquired not only through books but also through experience.            
Imagination and feeling. Two sides of the same coin. So is that weird feeling running through Jason’s body what Freud actually meant when he said that the barrier between anger and arousal was thin?

[Y/N] peered at him with a misunderstanding that turned into something else the second she noticed he was looking at her right in the eyes with his gorgeous intense blue gaze. She didn’t dare move even though she could feel the proximity between them narrowing more and more. He was suddenly close, so close she could see his heart pounding in his chest, smell the gunpowder on his clothes and feel his hot breath on her face. She couldn’t break the eye contact. She didn’t want it to. On the contrary, she was curious, curious to see what would happen, what he wanted to do.

She watched as he slowly bent, approaching his face to hers, closing his eyes. She stepped back by pure reflex when he brushed her plumb lips with his, looking for an approval that she eventually gave him when she relaxed.           
And then, suddenly, he attracted her by her waist, right against his chest to crash his mouth against hers. She gasped when she felt her body slamming against his but immediately plunged her hands into his dark locks, moaning in his mouth, enjoying his strong grip and his soft lips dancing rather aggressively with hers.                   
“ You won’t get away with this. I’m still mad at you.” She whispered breathless           
“ So am I”              
“ Angry sex it is then?”                   
“ Looks like it.”                   
Jason grabbed her by the ass and she wrapped her legs around him to hold tight as he slammed her body against the nearby wall. Soon, their clothes felt like a futility to them. [Y/N] took off Jason’s leather jacket and threw it away before caressing the bat symbol on his chest with her fingertips.  
“ What would the old bat say about that?”        
“ Screw the bat.”              
She barely had the time to chuckle that Jason had already captured her lips again, tearing apart her top with his calloused bare hands only to grab her boobs. His mouth then deviated towards her neck to finally reach her décolleté. He freed her breast from her bra without taking it off and began kissing, licking and sucking her now-hard nipples. She moaned with pleasure, tilting her head back against the wall.     
“Fuck!” She yelped when he bit her.      
It made Jason smirk with satisfaction and he decided to tease her even more by slowly leaving a trail of hungry kisses along her stomach. When he reached down, he looked up at her with another smug smile as he unzipped her pants.             
“ Do you want this?” He asked with a sudden arousing husky voice. She nodded, biting her lips “You have no idea.”                
“ But do you deserve it?” She fixed her gaze on him, dumbstruck, wondering if he would actually dare to leave her frustrated like that. “Don’t tease me like that, Redbird!” He stood up and pressed his body against hers, staring at her with his beautiful yet mysterious blue eyes. “Sorry I’m no one’s lackey. It don’t follow orders.”                 
“ Please!” Her begging surprised her. Being submissive wasn’t her thing but there was something about that man that made her ready to yearn for more. “ Are you begging me?”             
“ No. I’m just being polite” She replied with a stern look in order not to lose face. But the young man was no fool. He smiled and made her turn her back on him before pushing her flat against the wall. The cold wall against her breast and stomach made her shiver but that was nothing compared to the sensation of Jason’s hands caressing her sides. He pulled down her pants along with her underwear with a mere swift move and came to fondle her perfect round ass, his eyes now even more darkened by desire than before. He kneeled and placed a kiss on one of her cheeks, which made her shake and moan softly.               
“ Stop teasing, would you?”       
“ Is that pissing you off?” He bit her ass softly before licking it with the tip of his tongue.         
“ You might regret it. Trust me.” He chuckled and press her lower-abdomen to make her bend slightly so that he would have a perfect access to her pink glistening folds. He took a long look at it that made her wonder what was going on.  
“ Correction. You will re… aaaah” She screamed as she suddenly felt his tongue down on her, licking her clit. She instinctively arched her back even more, holding on to the wall the best she could as she was feeling her legs suddenly trembling like crazy. She gasped when she felt not one but already two of Jason’s fingers sliding easily and hastily into her to stretch her walls “ I can feel our little argument got you all wet, my little pet.” She frowned at the words, feeling a bit too submitted for her taste and took off his fingers out of her. She turned around to face him again with an angry look yet still filled with desire and, with a small kick on his chest, put him flat on the ground. She kneeled, sat on him and immediately grabbed his hands when he tried to touch her to pin them down above his head.  
“ There. Much better.” She laid a small kiss on his nose before brushing his lips to bite vividly the lower one. He growled. It hurt a bit. “ I must warn you. BDSM is not my thing.”  
“ It’s not mine either, but …” She unbuckled his pants and took off his belt “ I’m resentful and I don’t like when people believe they can tame me.” She seized his hands and rolled the belt around his wrists to tie them together. “ I’m not some pet dog. I’m a wolf.”             
She caught his chin and kissed him passionately, rolling her lips onto him, looking for dominance, looking for his submission. Jason felt is cock hardened even more under her as he was fighting not to moan in her mouth. But it was hopeless.     
“ You’re all hard for me, aren’t you, **pet**?” He had a crooked smile. “You’re definitely resentful”.  
“ Told you” She pulled off his boxer, freeing his cock and grabbed it in her hands. Jason gritted his teeth with pleasure when he felt her hands going up and down his shaft. He closed his eyes to enjoy the moment only to open them again when he felt her rubbing his dick against her humid folds. The feeling as well as the sight of this made him growl in frustration and pleasure. “You’re such a tease.”  
“Why?” She asked as she kept on doing her exquisite back and forth movements.      
“ You know why.”              
“ Does that make you angry?” She was so cheeky and damn how much he liked it.      
“ I’m already angry, remember? Aaaaah Fuuucck.” He growled when she suddenly welcomed him inside of her. She was tight and wet. It felt so good around his cock and it felt even better when she began to move on top of him. “That’s right. Ride me, baby” He whispered huskily. He tried to catch her hips but remembered his wrists were tied together. Damn. He wanted so much to grab her and to thrust inside of her. “Come on. Faster.”                 
“ No” She murmured with a satisfied smile, keeping her steady languorous pace, caressing his chest. He growled again, but this time it was due to an annoying frustration growing inside of him. “I should take of this stupid Kevlar thing but to do so I should free you and, well, since I cannot trust you.”  
“ You can trust me.”       
“ Really?”             
“ Yes” He pleaded            
“ What’s your name then?” She whispered in his ear. Jason smiled, amazed and charmed by her manipulation attempt but also a bit amused. As if he would tell her.         
He however saw an opportunity to gain back his dominance on her. With a swift move, he passed his still-tied hands above the girl’s head and circled her body with his muscled arms, holding her against his chest, prisoner of his embrace. But he wasn’t done yet. He made her roll off him and lay her flat on her back. She gasped when she felt his heavy body on her and the humid cold ground on her skin.  
“ That won’t work, you know?” He whispered as he placed himself between her legs.                 
“ At least I tried”               
And he buried himself in her once more with a growl. She spread her legs wider and caught his hips to help him go a little deeper, slowly pulling off the hem of his shirt to reveal his perfectly outlined abs.  
“ If you want to see more perhaps give me a hand and untie this.” He presented her his wrists and after some quick thinking she decided to loosen the belt. “ Better” Jason whispered with a satisfied smile. He then sat up straight and took off the top part of his suit. His chest was dreamy. It was broad with muscles that looked like cut from the rock or chiselled in marble as one of those Greek statues in museum. [Y/N] placed her fingertips on it and took delight in feeling his soft warm skin, so much she bit softly her lips. He was so handsome.                 
“Still with me?” He slowly grabbed her chin between his thumb and his forefinger. She nodded and he caught her lips with his.

The passion and desire they had for each other was devouring. Their body were pressed against each other. Their lips were locked together. Their hands were discovering each other’s body with a burning ardour. The moaning of one was always echoing the moaning of the other. He was feeling her and she was feeling him. They fit perfectly together. It was as if they were one, as if they were meant to be like that.       
They were not battling for dominance anymore. Every move was natural. Jason’s thrusts were sometimes deep and slow and sometimes fast. He was listening to her moaning, listening to her body language, her hands in his hair then her nails scratching his back, her legs circling his waist, her hips rolling against him.   
“ I think I’m … aaah”       
“ Yes. Come for me, baby.” He suddenly felt her tensing against him, clinging to his back. “That’s it. I want you to come” Her voice began to be only little squeals and moaning as she was begging him to help her release the devouring pleasure inside of her. “Please, Red …”     
“ Call me Jason” He growled as he sensed her clenching around his thick cock.             
Her eyes briefly widened before pleasure struck her again. “Jason” She moaned as he was relentlessly pounding her. “Harder”. He obeyed, gladly sacrificing his remaining energy to satisfy her. Another thrust and she tilted her head back, screaming his name as her body tensed under his. Jason smiled at the sound of it and felt his release coming as well.       
He abruptly pulled out of her but she held him back with her legs and hands. “Where are you going like that?” She kissed him, chuckling a little bit in his mouth, and seized his throbbing cock in her hand. He closed his eyes with a moan. She was doing good.                          
“Cum on me, Jason” Her whisper was such a sexy begging that it didn’t take long for the young man to reach his climax. She stared at him with awe as he came, enjoying his marvellous face twisted by pleasure as he growled like a wild animal. His hot cum squirted on her stomach. She smiled and he stared at her, aroused, as she wiped it with her fingers to bring it to her mouth. Damn. He grinned and caught her lips with his, one last time.    

Calm were back again as they both stopped talking, too focused on their panting breathing and their racing heartbeats, him still on top of her.    
She kissed his forehead covered with sweat and caressed his wet hair, brushing away some black strands stuck to his face.             
“ Perhaps this team up thing wasn’t such a terrible idea.” She whispered to him to which he responded with a tired yet sweet chuckle before rolling of her with a groan, dragging her with him to make her lie on his bare chest. “ Can you remind me why we were arguing?”   
“ To be honest I don’t exactly remember.” He confessed with a cute tiny laugh.          
They were silent again, in each other arms, caressing each other, exhausted.              
“ What do you think about sleeping here?” He asked her.        
“ I think it’s probably the best idea you had all night, Jason.”                 


	12. Who's The Wolf?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it is Jaybird's birthday. Here's a new chapter.
> 
> Tell me what you think about it in the comment section :-)

“ So let me sum up. You think that Black Mask has somehow put his hand on a biotechnological virus capable of controlling the mind of anyone infected and that he used it on the mayor so that he would be able to redefine Gotham the way he wants.”      
“ It’s a techno-organic virus actually but basically yeah” [Y/N] remained silent for a while, sitting on the desk of Jason’s personal hideout as he was working on his blocking capacities using an old wooden dummy. “You don’t think that’s possible?”           
“ Honestly Jay, I believe anything can happen in Gotham. Black Mask always had his filthy hands on everything as far as I remember so it is highly probable that he’s behind this … It’s just … Why does he need Bizarro? … And why does he need you?”          
“ I’m wondering the same thing”              
“ But do you believe in his ‘I need an heir’ crap?”            
“ I don’t know, babe. Every time I think I’ve finally figured the guy out, he is proving he is way ahead of me” He stopped punching, a bit out of breath and took a towel to sponge down the sweat on his face and on his bare chest. “What?” He asked her with a chuckle as she was smiling at him.  
“Babe?” She repeated with a questioning amused look.             
“ I didn’t say that.”           
“ Yeah you did”                   
“ So even if I did, I often call Artemis princess.”                 
“ Liar! You would be dead by now if you were doing that.”          
“ It’s just a way to …” He marked a pause to look for the right word that could get him out of this awkward situation, a bit too humiliating to his taste.       
“ show affection?” She suggested with a mocking smile               
“ No … Enhance my male side.” He stuck out his chest in an attempt to make her smile which was an eventual success.          
“ Seriously stop it. It’s funny but you’re embarrassing yourself … **babe** ”

She winked and he threw his towel at her with a fake angry look. She threw it back shortly after she caught it, the reek of his sweat being rather displeasing and aggressive to her wolf smell. “I think you’ve enhanced your male side enough for today. You stink.”            
“ Look at that fastidious young lady repelled by this wonderful essence of virility” Jason said with an exaggerated distinguished tone.       
“ The hormone of virility, which would be the testosterone, doesn’t come from sweat but from gonads in case you didn’t know” He crossed his arms above his bare chest, nodding at her with a weird pout. “Sexual glands” she clarified as she believed he didn’t know what they were “The only thing that can be associated to virility in sweat is the presence of a low percentage of pheromones” Jason was listening to her carefully but there was this sparkle of mischief in his eyes “But you already knew all that, didn’t you?” He laughed. Of course he knew, he had studied the human body from every conceivable angle. After all he had to as Batman’s perfect little soldier.                  
“ Is your meta-side able to smell all these things?”       
“ Smelling is a capability among so many though it used to drive me nuts at the beginning. It is the wolf’s most developed sense. It permits to identify and locate things or persons and even tell about their mood or health.”                

When he felt like she was ready to tell her more about herself, about her life, her history, Jason went to sit by her side in silence.                  
“When I was a “wolf-cub” I used to have no control over all this. I could smell everything: all my surroundings, every people’s emotions. It felt as if my mind was invaded. I didn’t know who I was anymore, I couldn’t tell my feelings apart from all the others I could sense. It was awful.”                 
“ How did you learn to control it?”           
“ I tried to isolate myself from as many people as possible. I thought that I should learn to channel few things first before trying to face a crowd of emotions. But that wasn’t what my mentor thought I should do. One morning, he woke me up, put spitting cobra venom in my eyes to render me temporarily blind and left me in the middle of a giant crowded market place and asked me to come back home. The first day I spent hours sobbing, looking for my way back, terrified. The second I cried. I was lost. The third I fell on my knees and screamed like crazy hoping he would come back to bring me back home. After four days I understood I could only count on myself so I got up and I pulled myself out of this mess. But of course I wasn’t welcomed back with a loving embrace ”                

_‘ Eth Alth’Eban – Few years ago_

                  Even though she could perceive some shades of blue and gold everything around her was still blurry. But she knew she was back. She knew it the moment she felt the humid air getting fresher as she was walking up the mosaic stairs, so cold under her wounded bare feet grazed by the days of walking. She knew it the second she smelled his distinct powerful animalistic odour.           
“ Four days” He just said with that disappointment in his voice “It took you four days.” She looked down with tears in her reddened blind eyes. But there weren’t tears of sadness. She had shed enough tears of sadness. Those were tears of anger. “I don’t know what I saw in you. You’re not that exceptional after all. Just another fragile little child from Gotham City who has lost mama and papa.” She tried to remain calm but she could feel her nails piercing her palms as she clenched her fists. “You’re not fit to be one of us and surely you don’t deserve your gift”          
A gift? What gift? To her it was more of a curse, a permanent affliction, an incurable disease, something she will carry like a burden for the rest of her life.              
“What? Did the trauma render you deaf? Mute?” She didn’t answer. She only gritted her teeth. She sensed him getting closer. His odour was more and more distinguishable as it was slowly invading her nostrils like a thick smoke. But there was something else, another smell, acrid and sour. She had smelled it before. She knew what it was. And she knew where it came from “Whatever. As long as you’re still capable of spreading your legs when I want, you may still have some use to me.”

Her hand slapped his face, scratching his cheek deep in the process. The force of the slap almost sent him flying. He tumbled, astonished, and caught hold of the table to cushion his fall. “You sick bastard. Have you any idea what you put me through? Can’t you even imagine for a second the pain I felt?”   
“ Am I supposed to feel guilty?” He tried to stand up she kicked him violently in the chest to keep him down on the floor.       
“ No because to feel guilty you must have a heart and we both know you don’t have one. You don’t care about anyone but yourself.” Her voice was a real growl, powerful and full of rage. It was coming from her entire body, making it shiver. However, he remained calm and emotionless as if her anger was leaving him indifferent.           
“ Affection makes one weak. It only ties your hands and feet. If you hadn’t waited for me you would have come back here on day one. You know I’m right. After all, isn’t the moment you realised I wouldn’t come what finally got you back on your feet and made you think rationally and not like a sad lost puppy?” With a simple yet powerful move she pushed the table away from him and right against a pillar. The impact broke it in pieces, reducing it to mere firewood.       
“Of course I was sad and lost. You abandoned me, blind and with nothing to defend myself!” She didn’t want him to get up. She sat on him and grabbed him by his clothes. “Perhaps I should do the same to you”    

She smelled it again, so close from her. She could hear it even, this murky poisonous liquid swaying in his phial, the very same he used on her to deprive her of her eyesight.       
Though she could not truly see it, she grabbed it without any difficulty and uncorked it. Those days lost in the crime-infested and filthy market had taught her how to rely on her other senses.               
She then approached the liquid from her mentor’s face, ready to pour it down right in his eyes, as he had done to her.          
“ Put the phial down, [Y/N]. That’s a good girl.” He was not begging. It sounded as he was trying to control her and she hated it.       
“ Why? Do you want me to pity you? Spare you? Sorry but I’m a fast learner. Affection makes one weak. It only ties your hands and feet. And right now I don’t feel anything for you except a devouring hatred”     
“You won’t do it.” But she did, without any hesitation. She poured it entirely. He didn’t scream. He wasn’t that kind of man. Instead he just gritted his teeth to muffle the pain. And she enjoyed it, so much she let herself smile of satisfaction. But the satisfaction was brief as he suddenly started laughing.                  
“ Finally. I knew you had it still in you, that awful beast, that monster lying in you” No he couldn’t appreciate this. He couldn’t be proud of this. She was hurting him. He was supposed to feel only pain.   
“Shut up!!!” She yelled as she threw him through the room only to rush towards him again. She pounced on him and started hit him hard again and again, screaming and shouting at him like a wild animal, until another smell, this time rather metallic and salted, came to her nose. He was bleeding and she had his blood on her hands. But she didn’t stopped. She continued. And he tried to defend himself but the rage was making her too strong                
“ Okay, [Y/N]. That’s enough. Calm down now.” He managed to say between two punches and he actually begged this time for that he knew what she was capable of when her eyes were starting to glow yellow.                                
“ Calm down? No I won’t calm down. You brought this upon yourself. If you want to blame someone for it, blame yourself.”                 
“ Stop it. You know what anger does to you.” Flashes of a terrible night came back to her. So much blood. Those screams. Those growls.     
“ Yes, I do. But I don’t care. Because right now all I want to do is kill you.”         
“ If you do it, we both know you’ll regret it.” Those voices … _The poor girl is orphan now… I think trauma turned her mad… Perhaps we should send her to Arkham. Arkham. Arkham. Arkham._ That word was echoing in her head. “Don’t let your anger control you. You control the demon inside of you not the other way around.”                    
And she released him. Slowly. And she started crying as she cried that night, the night when it all began, the night when it all changed.      
“That’s it” He whispered to her ear, caressing her messy white hair.                

“ So it wasn’t without any surprise that the next step of my training was to work on my anger issues.” She said to conclude her story though she had omitted to talk about her weird flashbacks and the voices in her head.                     
Jason remained quiet even after that, with pity and sadness in his eyes. Who would have thought that a girl as young as her could have been through such a terrible ordeal. And how could a man torture a fifteen years old girl? Or abuse her like that? He was no mentor. He was a tyrant as well as a paedophile. The thought of his filthy hands on her body sickened him and made him want to find the bastard and fill his body with bullets.                   
“ Why didn’t you kill him?” He asked as his eyes were suddenly darkened by anger    
“ Because, as crazy as it sounds, I have respect for the man. He was harsh but he pulled me out of the gutter when I needed help and he made me tougher. He taught me how to fight and to survive.”

The outlaw cooled down as he remembered the night he met Batman when he was just a street rat named Jason Todd, how he moved from Ma Gunn’s school for wayward boys to Wayne Manor, how he swapped an old red sweater for a green, red and yellow uniform, how he went from being a wheels thief to the sidekick of the world greatest detective, a man he respected and dared considered like a father even though his life with him wasn’t always easy. Strange how his story wasn’t so different from hers.   
“ It’s surprising how much we are alike you and I.” He confessed as he stared at her right in her greyish green eyes.                
“ I told you, Jason. We have more than one thing in common.” Without looking away from her, Jason slowly cupped her soft cheek. She let go under his caress, enjoying his tenderness as she closed briefly her eyes.               
He slightly smiled at her sudden docility and welcomed her in his arms before planting a kiss in her silky hair with a delicacy that agreeably surprised her. But she couldn’t allow herself to feel that good nor could she let herself grow fond of him. She had a mission. A mission she could not fail if she aimed to survive.

“You still smell, you know?” She said to voluntarily ruin the moment even though she didn’t want it to. By chance it only made him laugh. “I’m going to take a shower then” He slowly let go of her before kissing her again, this time close to the corner of her lips. She stood still for a brief moment, a bit confused by his gesture. He noticed it but he decided to use this moment to go. “You know, [Y/N].” He stopped on his way to the bathroom “You mentor was wrong. You are exceptional.” He declared with another sweet and sincere smile.       
_Damn you, Jason Todd. Why do you have to make things so difficult?_ She thought as she dreamily touched the bit of skin next to her mouth where he had kissed her.

 


	13. Traumas In Our Heads

“ I definitely understand why you both want me in. After all, every battle needs a strong leader.” Jason, not so surprised by Artemis’ high self-esteem, glanced at [Y/N] who tried to hide her amused smile. “ But why should I help you?”            
“ Oh I don’t know… Because if Black Mask has indeed the biotechnological virus …”                    
“ Techno-Organic” Jason corrected. She glared at him for a second before focusing back on Artemis “ He’ll destroy the city.”             
“ So? It’s not my city.”    
“ Aren’t Amazons supposed to maintain piece?” Jason asked hoping that a reminder of the Amazons’ true purpose would perhaps push her into helping him. But Artemis wasn’t a very traditional Amazon. Something certainly due to the fact she was not from Themiscyra.             
“ Is Justice League written on my forehead, little one?” She pointed at it but didn’t let Jason answer. “ No. So please stop taking me for Diana.”   
“ Diana?” [Y/N] frowned.                
“ Wonder Woman” Jason clarified. [Y/N] nodded with a pout. “Come on Artemis, you’re not stupid or blind. Black Mask is up to something and with Bizarro in his possession, who knows if Gotham will be the only city he’ll target. After all, the mayor has been bio-hacked to trade with an _international_ crime cartel”                  
“ I am not saying that I’m not aware of how dangerous Black Mask could be with Bizarro in his filthy hands but I only came to Gotham to retrieve…”             
Jason rolled his eyes with a sigh.“… The Bow of Ra. Yeah you said it like I don’t know …”           
“Are you going to cut everyone short every time you can?” Artemis interrupted him, not liking at all his sudden habit “I’m sorry but you both will have to handle things by yourself or find someone else.”   
“ Like who? [Y/N] is a lone wolf. I’m an outlaw. I don’t think anyone I know would agree to be involved in this mess. There’s no way I’ll ask Batman. My best friend is a Titan again. My ex-partner has sold her soul to the demon’s spawn. Nightwing is busy in Blüdhaven …”                   
“ Fine. We get it. You have no friend.” [Y/N] tried not to laugh but their permanent bickering was just too hilarious. In their short time together, she had learned to appreciate Artemis’ sass and her talent to annoy Jason. “Who’s cutting short who now, huh?” Jason replied back            
“ Listen, Jason. I truly understand the reason why you want to take the Black Mask down. It’s your city. You feel responsible. And it’s highly honourable of you. But this isn’t my fight.”                   
“ Can’t you delay your researches?” [Y/N] dared to ask though she already knew the answer.                
“ I’m that close to retrieve the Bow of Ra. I’m not going to back down now.”    
“ That’s a bit selfish of you, Xena.” Selfish? That wasn’t selfish. Finding the Bow of Ra wasn’t a childish whim. It was her task, the promise she had made to herself when Akila died. And she had sworn she would not cease her quest even if it’ll take forever to find it. For Akila’s sakes. For her dearest friend. “You waited years. Can’t you wait a few more days?”              
“ The power of the bow is immeasurable. It could create an apocalypse if it was to fall in the wrong hands. It has to be given back to the Shim’tar … And who do you think you are to lecture me?”

The animosity between the two was rather palpable even though [Y/N] was trying her best not to get on Artemis’ temper … much. But she was always acting angry. [Y/N] even came to wonder if their battle in Crime Alley wasn’t responsible for that tension.

“ You call me selfish. But what are your reasons to be so willing to bring Black Mask down? Judging by your character I doubt they are so altruistic”          

 _Mommy? Mommy? Mommy, wake up._ She shook her head slightly as it would make the voices get away from her head. But there is one thing about dark traumatic memories, you can never escape them. They always come back to remind you that life isn’t a quiet long river.

“ You’re right, Artemis. They are not” She tried to look her in the eye but the lump in her throat and her sudden watery angry eyes betrayed her attempt to remain composed. Artemis frowned, her arms crossed over her chest. “Oh no I won’t fall for crocodile tears.” The Amazon said even if deep down she knew she shouldn’t have. [Y/N] looked down and closed her eyes to prevent her tears from falling. _[Y/Nickname], come here. It’ll be okay. We’re together._ Her sister voice echoed as she saw her again, kneeled before her. She suddenly gasped as she had the weird impression she was touching her hand. But it was just Jason.         

“ You know what? Fuck you all.” She got up, rejecting his touch.              
“ [Y/N]!” The young man called out when he saw her rushing out the room. He glared at Artemis.   
“ What? You don’t expect me to apologize, right? I didn’t do anything wrong.”                
“ When will you realise that you don’t have to be like that with us? We are not your enemies.”  
“ I don’t trust her.”           
“ Of course you don’t. How can you trust someone if you don’t let them the chance to prove you that you can.”          
“ Are you yelling at me, little one? Because if you …”    
“ I’m not.” He sighed to regain a soft tone “Look. I was like you before. I thought I didn’t need anyone. I thought I could handle everything by myself. And it didn’t turn out well for me”

 _Welcome home, Jason Hahahahah haahaha._ Jason discreetly blinked and breathed in deeply, looking for fresh her as he had the impression to drown in Joker’s morbid stench all over again.

“Letting people in doesn’t make you weak, Red. So don’t shut us out like this.”

By saying all this, he didn’t expect Artemis to walk out the room and go talk to [Y/N]. He knew she was way to proud for that but he hoped that soon or later she would give him a chance to prove him right.

“ My answer is still no.” She said on her way out of the hideout               
“ Of course it is.” He heard her stop walking and glanced at her over his shoulder.      
“ She’ll come back, won’t she?” She didn’t look at him because she didn’t want to see his little satisfied smile. “I’ll go look for her.” He answered to reassure her.      
“ Good ” And she left without saying goodbye or even looking at him. But it made him smile. She made him smile. He had hope.

But hope can be lost. Hope is like innocence. Hope is merely an idea, something that can burn and be reduced to ashes. [Y/N] knew that. And she had learned it the worst way. She had learned it the day she found her mother dead on the armchair in the middle of the living room. And she could still see her face, pale and frozen, and this hollow in her green eyes, and her agape mouth, and this white foam running down her chin. She could still feel her freezing hand and her rigid body and the cold in the room. Snow had entered the apartment through an open window and had covered the furniture. But there was another type of snow, a powdery one, something her 9 years old self had never seen. It was there, spread on her mother’s lap and on the floor. _Mommy? Mommy? Mommy, wake up!_ But she did not. _[Y/N], get out of here!_ Her father pushed her away from the room, his phone close to his ear, enraged as he talked to someone. But she stayed to listen, to understand. _He did this! He learned for the cargo and he did this to make me pay! He killed her!_

She burst her glass with a simple pressure. It shattered on the bar, stained with her blood.                

“Are you okay, young lady?” A man sitting next to her asked when he spotted her bleeding hand. “Mind your own business!” She retorted with an animalistic growl that attracted everyone’s attention. She noticed it and decided it was perhaps time for her to leave.                 
She took her coat and threw few dollars at the bartender. “Keep the change.”              
“ Careful on your way home, miss” She didn’t bother to look at him. She just got out and began wandering like a lost soul in the middle of the night in that filthy neighbourhood of Gotham called Park Row until a series of footsteps behind her caught her attention.          
Any girl would have speeded up. After all, that would have been the wisest reaction. But she was not any girl. She was a Wolf. She was an Assassin. And so she was ready to resolutely wait for those pathetic thugs to come and bully her.                  
It didn’t take much time as she bumped into one of them.         
“ I knew I know you. Remember me?” She looked up at the man, unimpressed but happy. One of Black Mask’s men. Perhaps that was her lucky day after all.          
“ Sorry but no. That may be because of those black masks.”     
“ The night in the bar. You killed two of my friends.”      
“ Oh you’re the coward who ran out when the situation started to degenerate.” Her defiance made him clench his fists “ Looks like you got new friends.” She glanced at the six other men surrounding her.                  
“ Looks like you’re alone.”           
“ And you’re here to invite me to a BDSM gangbang?” She chuckled, definitely in the mood for some game. Alcohol sometimes does miracle to cheer people up, doesn’t it? “Sorry but I’ll have to decline”  
The man pulled out his gun and pulled back the hammer right before her eyes. She didn’t even flinch. “Okay listen. I’m definitely in the mood for some skulls cracking right now. But for your own sake perhaps reconsider whatever you have in mind before you do something you’ll regret” She suddenly heard the cocking of all their guns all around her. “Fine it’s not like I didn’t warn you”


	14. Kindred Spirits

                  The best about living in a bunker under a police station is that you can have direct access to what’s going on in the city. The worst thing however, is when the information you get concerns an ally … or is it more a partner? … a friend? … a fling? Jason didn’t know. But when he learned that [Y/N] was going berserk on Black Mask’s men, he knew he couldn’t wait any second. He surely isn’t the only vigilante in this city listening to police radio. However he had an advantage on Batman this time: he knew her better.

And so he was not really surprised by what was before his eyes. It was almost the same killing pattern as the first time. Men butchered and dismembered, deep teeth marks and scratches. Except that this time she didn’t linger … with good reasons. The bodies were on the ground almost in a perfect circle. This suggested that she was surrounded when she was attacked and that she slaughtered them one by one very quickly. They tried to shoot her judging by the golden bullets shining at Jason’s feet but she was too fast and too cunning. She used some of the men as shields to protect herself during the gunshot. At least that is the best reasoning Jason could pull out by looking at some bodies riddled with bullets. Another well-calculated bloodbath.                
Stains of blood flowing between the cobblestones down the gutter caught Jason’s attention. They were a bit too far from the massacre. Was she hurt? … No, of course not. She was too clever by half to be harmed by simple thugs. It was someone else’s blood, a man who tried to flee the fight.           
Jason followed the trail and realised he guessed right. A man was slowly crawling on the ground not far away from him, a hand pressed on his wound to prevent the blood from flowing too much. Considering his direction he was trying to reach for a car and he was close.                              
Jason looked around him. He knew what was about to happen. But he didn’t know if he should prevent it or not. He had promised Bruce not to kill but he hadn’t promised him he would save criminals.  
The dilemma didn’t last long as fate, under the appearance of a huge white wolf, bounced on the man from behind the car and took away his body away with a growl as he screamed for the last time.  
A mere couple of seconds after his still-masked head rolled under the car.    
Jason sighed. That was perhaps not necessary.              
He approached the car silently when he swore he had heard bones cracking. And here she was, her naked body covered in blood shining under the moonlight, her messy white hair flowing in the wind. What a beautiful killer.        
She wasn’t ashamed. Nor was she happy. She was just standing there still and emotionless as a marble statue. A deadly version of Botticelli’s Venus.  

Jason took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders to cover her up without saying a word. She looked up at him and met his blue eyes. “Let’s go home.” He put his hand on her shoulder and she glanced at his gesture before pushing him away. “Let go of me.” He didn’t expect that kind of reaction.  
“ I’m here to help you.” She had a slight snicker. “Of course you are. This is your part of your vigilante crap thing.” He was about to retort but sirens and flashing red and blue lights interrupted him. “Okay, here’s the thing. Either you come with or you begin to run hoping the cops –or worse- won’t catch you.”

She was far from being stupid. Of course she followed him and rode back with him to his underground hideout. And once there, he just took off his helmet and placed it on his desk on which he leant in silence. But he had that look. Last time she saw one similar to this they ended up screwing on a rooftop. But this time it was different.  

“ Why the hell did you do that for?” He asked sternly, his arms crossed over his broad chest. She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “There you go. Another condescending lecture”               
“ I’m not lecturing you, [Y/N].”  
“ Well it looks like it.”  
“ I’m just trying to understand why you killed those men.” He didn’t sound nor angry nor judgmental but something was definitely bothering her. “They kinda asked for it.” She growled looking at him right in the eye. He scrutinized her features twisted by anger and pain. She hated it. “What? Are trying to make me feel guilty?”                  
“ No”      
“ Good. Because I don’t” He tried to put himself in her place. Would he sound as cold-hearted as her after such a massacre? And would he have been able to commit such ignominious act? He couldn’t answer for he didn’t know all of her story.                                
“Did you forget that Batman was on your trail and that you have a cover to maintain with Black Mask? Why are you acting like this?”          
“I’m not acting, Redbird. I’m just being myself. And if you don’t realise that then you’re blind.”  
“You and I both know this is not true.” He retorted as he came to sit near her “I don’t know what Black Mask has done to you. But I know one thing: I don’t buy your masquerade.” She glanced at him briefly but remained silent. “I know that there is far more than meets the eye, that behind your self-confidence and your ravishing charms there is still that fragile teenage girl crying for some consideration and love. And you know I’m right.” She could feel his gaze on her but she preferred to keep her eyes down. She hated being told some home truths. “You and I, [Y/N], we are so alike. You said it yourself. And I’m not going to give up on the real you.”    
“ You should.”   
“ I grew up in the streets. Before I was adopted, I was just a poor street rat stealing tyres to survive. But I was given a chance as I’m giving you a chance, today. Don’t turn it down."

His compassion felt weird to her ears. She wasn’t used to this and therefore didn’t know how to act in consequence. So she did as her instinct told her. She confessed in a whisper.

“Black Mask killed my mother.” Jason’s eyes widened at the sudden reveal. It knew her hatred for Black Mask was personal but he didn’t expected this. Her voice was faint and broken. “I was nine years old…. My dad was working for him when he thought he would be a good idea to double-cross him.” That story sounded familiar. “Black Mask found out and he killed her… forced her to overdose with the very same drug my dad used to smuggle behind his back… … … I found her body in the living room” Way too familiar. “I still can see her in my head.”

And so could he. As if it happened yesterday.                   
He could still see his mother dying by his side, slowly. He could still see her, here, lied on an old mattress on the floor, by the window, with bandages around her elbows, her drug-damaged skin lightened by few candles. And he could still feel her cold hand in his as he was holding it, begging her to wake up and to pull herself together. _I wish you would stop taking that stuff. I wish you could here me. I miss you._ But it was like talking to a brick wall, a cold fragile brick wall.                
He remembers being angry and hungry. He remembers trying to feed her. _I know you’re not hungry much right now but you need to eat something_. He remembers stealing food in the street. And he remembers the knocks he got and those he gave to get it. _I hurt someone today. I was getting us food. He tried to take it from me, from you, from us. I started hitting him, over and over again._ He remembers confessing to her, crying in silence. _Mom, am I a bad person?_ _  
_ Until the day he cried out loud. She was dead. His mom was dead. And he couldn’t save her. He called out for his help. But no help came. He was alone. _Mom wake up! No! … No!!! … Mom! Mom wake up! Come on. Please._ He held her lifeless body on the bathroom floor, hoping she would open her beautiful blue eyes and hold him as well. But she did not. She remained still, with that white foam around her mouth. _Please mom wake up! I need you._ He had always been conscious that her addiction was slowly killing her but he had always hoped it would never take her away from him, not so quickly, not so soon, not ever.

“ Anyway. I should go. Thanks for the ride.” She said on her way out. He rushed towards her to hold her back by her wrist. “No, stay.”          
“ Jason” She sighed to let him know she wanted him to let her go. But he refused. “Where would you go? Back to Black Mask’s?”   
“ There are other places here in Gotham. I’ll find one.”               
“ I want you to stay” He cupped her cheek with a delicacy that made her let go in his hand for a small instant.“ Don’t please. I … This is wrong. All this. I shouldn’t …” He frowned as she slowly took off his hand to leave this place.                   
“ What are you talking about?” The mission. She was talking about that stupid mission. She wanted to yell, to tell him the truth, to tell him that the league is after him and that he’s in danger, that she was send to bring him back and that she was miserably failing because of feelings for him she shouldn’t have let herself feel. But instead she just said: “ Why are you so nice to me?”                  
“ I care for you.” She sensed tears slowing watering her green eyes. She could bear her pain, but the mere idea he would soon suffer because of her, because she let him in, was unbearable.       
“ I don’t deserve it. If only you …” He kissed her to stop her from talking. She gasped against his lips. They were so soft. He was so soft. She let herself briefly melt against him, nestled in his strong embrace before abruptly ending the kiss. “I can’t Jay. We can’t.”                  
“ I won’t let you go.” He whispered as he approached to kiss her again. She placed her hands on his broad chest to make him keep his distance.                   
“ I’m trouble. Believe me.”         
“ I love trouble.”


	15. All His, Body And Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: SMUT ;-)

She had no idea how she let him convince her to stay.                  
Sitting under the showerhead, she was looking at the bloody water flowing towards the plughole, thinking about her mission, about Ben, about Jason, about everything that had happened since her return to Gotham, considering the options she had: telling Jason the truth, leaving or completing her mission.

“[Y/N]?” She turned off the shower. “[Y/N], you’re okay?” She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body before opening the door. Jason was on the doorstep, still in his Red Hood costume, his mask under his arm. “I was worried. You’ve been in here for more than an hour.”                   
“Oh I’m sorry. I was elsewhere. I didn’t realise…”           
“ I left you a t-shirt on the bed.” He pointed it out on his bed behind him.          
“ You’re going somewhere?”      
“ Yeah. Make sure Black Mask doesn’t learn about what happened.”                   
“ I don’t want you to pay for my mistakes.” She said to convince him to stay here and not get involved in some kind of trouble.         
“ Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” He sounded so strong and so confident and so willing to help her as if nothing could hurt him and she hated it as much as she loved it. “In the meantime, go get some sleep.”                 
“ I mean it Jay.” She put her hand on his jaw and slowly made him bend towards her face so that she could kiss him gently on his warm lips. He didn’t reject her. Instead he smiled. God, how much she loved that smile. “ I thought you were trouble”   He chuckled brushing her hair with his fingers.                 
“ I am.” She whispered, close to his lips.                             

He pulled her against his body to kiss her deeply, his hands roaming around her back; hers tightened in his raven hair. “You have no idea what you get yourself into.” She whispered between two kisses, panting against his lips. “Getting into trouble is one of my biggest talent and if you’re trouble then …” He had a crooked satisfied smile that made her chuckle. “For someone who loves literature, your puns are lame” He caught her by the hips and made her wrap her legs around him. “I’ll recite you a Shakespearean sonnet later, I promise.”               
She laughed as he carried her to his bed and eventually threw her on it.           
“ Let’s get rid of that, shall we?” She giggled again and he took off her towel. He gazed at her beautiful body during a small instant before he felt the urge to kiss her neck. She was still a bit wet and her skin was slightly dampening his clothes but he did not care since he knew he would get rid of them in a minute.                   
He began to leave a long trail of soft kisses down her body, his hands grasping her breasts. His lips and the leathery touch of his gloves against her thin skin made her shiver and moan but she preferred the feeling of his rough hands. She eventually grabbed them and Jason looked up at her. She met his stare and slowly pulled his gloves off. He didn’t know why but he found this terribly sexy. He kept looking at her as she delicately started to plant small kisses on his fingertips. He hissed and gritted his teeth when she put two of his fingers in her mouth to suck on them. Okay, now not only it was sexy but it was also fucking arousing.               
Jason went back to her face to kiss her, hoping it would help him calm his sudden ardour a bit. But she wanted him to melt under her touch. She pushed him on his back on straddled him only to take off his jacket and the top of his uniform, caressing his chest at the same time. He pursed his lips. He never pursed his lips before.                    
“ What the hell are you doing to me?” He asked with a groan.                  
“ What the hell are you doing to me, you mean?” She said in a whisper, which sounded almost miserable. He tried to sit straight to take her in his arms but she immediately pushed him flat on his back and went on kissing his warm muscled chest, from his strong pectorals to the chiselled V below his divine abs. “Damn” He cursed as she licked the small hairy line below his navel. She smiled and unbuckled his belt before kissing his crotch through his boxer. She briefly looked up at him and noticed he had tilted his head against the mattress. That made her grin and she pulled off his boxer. He moaned when he finally felt his thick cock spring free and groaned when he felt her lips on it. He leant on his elbow to see her. She gazed at him with her lustful green eyes and eventually took him in her mouth. He hissed again, resisting the urge to let himself fall back on the bed. He wanted to watch her. She was so pretty. And she knew what she was doing. Eye contact, lick, caress, sucking.    
He grabbed a handful of her soft hair to give her a pace. She let him do which actually even surprised her.                    
“Okay baby, stop now.” He begged between his teeth as he realised he wouldn’t last long.                   
She obeyed and he got up from the bed to finally take off his shoes and pants. “Much better. Now where were we?” He asked with a crooked smile.

She bit her lip as her eyes were delighting over his perfect muscled body and instantly roll over on her stomach with her ass slightly up, begging him to take her now. “Like that?” His little wolf wanted him to dominate her? He chortled, exited and surprised by her desire, when she nodded with a sweet smile.            
He caught her by the hips and pulled her closer. His cock brushed her wet entrance softly before burying itself deep in her with a swift move that made them both moan. “Fuck” Jason cursed when he realised how deep he already was.                
He instinctively spanked her. She squealed. She hadn’t seen this coming. But it had felt good. Not like the other times she had been spanked.       
“ Yes, clench around me, baby.” He growled as he spanked her again. She gasped and then chuckled. “ Fuck you, Redbird.”                 
“ That’s the spirit.” And he started pounding in her, holding her tight by the hips, and taking delight in watching her butt slamming against him. “Jason.” She moaned gripping the sheets strongly between her fingers. His balls were slapping against her and she could hear him fuck her deep.  
When he began to move faster she understood he was close to his release. So she thought she would accompany him in his climax. She placed her fingers on her clit to toy with it as Jason was relentlessly fucking her right now. He noticed it. “Let me” He murmured. She pursed her lips when she felt his fingers taking over and buried her face in the mattress to muffle her squeals. “ Yes, that’s it, baby. Come for me”             
And she did. Was it his fingers, his husky voice growling pleadings and curses in her ear, his cock pounding inside of her or a combination of those three things that made her reach her climax? She did not know. But what she did know is that she belonged body and soul to that man. _Damn you Jason Todd. Fucking damn you._ She fell on the bed, unable de remain on her hands and knees anymore. Jason bent over her body, focused again on his fast back-and-forths. Seeing her like that, panting, exhausted and completely at his mercy was a real boost for his male self-confidence. When he felt his release approached, he tried to pull out but she stopped him.              
“ Don’t” She pleaded in a whisper           
“ You sure?”         
“ Yes. Don’t worry.” He started growling even more loudly in the nape of her neck, slowing his movements but deepening them, his hand on her head, using her body as leverage. She moaned when she finally felt his cum spreading inside her pussy and smiled when Jason let himself fall next to her with a relieved sigh. “Fuck” He chuckled, panting, his blue eyes sparkling with well-being.                  
She crawled in his arms and laid her head on his sweaty chest, listening to his heart beating fast. He wrapped her in his arms as if he wanted her to stay there.                    
She sighed while brushing his chest with her fingertips. He breathed deeply before planting a kiss in her white hair “Told you I had talents for getting into trouble” He bragged laughing    
“You dork.” She slapped his face softly before kissing him tenderly. “I’m a dork?” She nodded, biting her lips “Sometimes. But I like it. It’s part of you charm.” She kissed him again. “Yeah, right, use seduction to try to get away with that”                        
“Is it working?”                   
He glanced at her trying to hide his smile “ Yeah.” He had the sexiest and cutest laugh. She could listen to it for hours… “I’m not insensitive” …as he could listen to her sweet giggles.

Silence came back in the room and soon [Y/N] thought about the conversation she had had with Jason earlier. She let herself ponder for minutes before she felt the need to talk to him when she noticed he was still awake. “ I’m sorry, Jay, but … I feel like we should talk about something.”  
“ What is it?” He frowned a bit worried by her sudden serious tone. She sighed“It’s gonna kill the mood.”           
“ I’m sure I’ll find a way to light up this bed one more time.” He said to take the potential drama out of this conversation. “Spit it out.”       
“ Do you remember when you said I was still this teenager looking for love and consideration?” He nodded, a bit concerned. “ Well, you were right. And that’s probably what got me in so much trouble in the last few years”              
“ What happened with your mentor?” He deducted. She looked up at him, a bit surprised, still nestled in his arms. He had this frown again. Why did she have to talk about this?                  
“ He was an ill-advised stupid teenage crush. He had just taken me under his wing. I thought he cared for me. I fell in love with him as any girl in love I wanted to please him. What a foolish girl I was.” She confessed as if she wanted to make up for her teenage sins, as if she was trying to justify herself for her stupidity.        
“ No. You were alone and vulnerable. He took advantage of it. He is a child abuser.” Jason sounded so dark, so mad. She had never heard such sullen anger in his voice. And the reason behind this sudden darkness was personal. He had lived and patrolled in the street for a long time. He had witnessed things, terrible things. He had heard children crying at night and woman screaming in pain. And he had sworn to himself that he’d never let anyone get along fine with such infamies … whatever the price to pay. No one hurt women or children and lives. No one.        
“ He never abused me. I was consenting.” Her attempt at defending Ben was rather unsuccessful. But she didn’t want to defend him. She just wanted to tell the truth. “ Still. That son of a bitch remains a paedophile. I can’t believe you still have respect for him. What he has done is sick and disgusting. “ She smiled at him hoping it would cool him down a bit. “ Look at you. Acting all protective.”         
“ It’s because I care for you”    


	16. The Moral Of The Warrior

The second she first stepped in ‘Eth Alth’Eban and was welcomed among the League of Assassins, [Y/N] knew that she would never get away from this place. But she didn’t care. She was just a fifteen-year-old orphan girl who was glad to be still alive. Dad was dead. Mom was dead and so was her big sister. And at this rate she was perfectly sure that she would have encountered the same fate if she had stayed in Arkham.               
‘Eth Alth’Eban didn’t look like Gotham at all. It was a hidden underground city, built away from prying eyes, at the centre of a maze of canyons somewhere in the Arabian Desert. The vault of the cavern was covered with long stalactites from which clear and fresh water were dropping occasionally on people’s head and the whole place was magically lit by an artificial eternal sun, held by a gigantic statue of Ra’s Al Ghul himself. The architecture was inspired by classical Arabian palaces with its blue horseshoe arches and beautiful gold muqarnas all decorated with infinite floral patterns and arabesques that symbolize the everlasting, something that the Demon’s Head cherished above all. But what truly struck [Y/N] were the lush greenery of the city with its various colourful flowers, its fresh grass, fountains and pathways so typical of paradise gardens depicted in _One Thousand and One Nights_.      
But even though she took delight in this enchanted place she soon realized that the place was just holding the most deadly assassins and killers of the world. That, she noticed when she went visiting the market place with Bronze Tiger and Lady Shiva. And for once in her life, she regretted not being in Gotham.                  
“ Don’t be scared.” Lady Shiva had told her giving her an old book between her hands. The cover was sophisticated and was ornamented with Asian symbols.     
“ I don’t speak Chinese”                
“ It’s not Chinese. The _Bushido_ is written in Japanese.” Ben growled at her mistake “It means the moral of the warrior. And tomorrow we’ll start your training”                     
There are eight rules in the _Bushido_ that a samurai must follow: _Meiyo_ (Honor), _Chujitsu_ (Loyalty) _Seijitsu_ , (Honesty) _Yuukan_ (Courage) _Shinjetsu_ (Benevolence), _Tadashi_ (Rectitude), _Sonchoo_ , (Respect) and _Seigyo_ (Self-Control). And [Y/N] lacked in most of them.                   
But she knew, the second she stepped a foot in ‘Eth Alth’Eban that she had at least one of them: Courage

“ Little Red Riding Hood am very brave” The superman clone said as [Y/N] closed the book.   
“ Or a bit too stupid” Artemis claimed from behind the glass door.       
“ It is called innocence, Artemis. But I guess it is something you must not be familiar with since you’ve never been a child, right?” The Amazon sneered. “ As if a cold-blooded killer would know better than me on the matter.”             
“ [Y/N] am no killer” Bizarro retorted as if he was vexed.              
“ That is also stupid. After all isn’t like in your genes? I’m not so much familiar with human tales but give me at least one popular story in which wolves are good.”   
“ Really Artemis? I would have thought that an Amazon like you would have heard about the she-wolf who suckled and protected the twins Romulus and Remus.”                 
“ I know this story. Except that I know the true version. The latin word “Lupa” that you people translated by “wolf” actually means “prostitute”.” She replied with haughtiness before leaving quietly.             
“ Where are you going, Xena?”                   
“ Doing something far more interesting and useful: looking for the Bow of Ra.”               
[Y/N] nodded with exasperation even though she knew that deep down Artemis was a kind and generous person and that this harshness was just a strong armour she wasn’t yet ready to lay down.

“ Red her am wrong. [Y/N] am no bad wolf.” Bizarro said with a sincerity that pierced her heart like a blade. But wasn’t she? Evil?                    
“ How do you know that Bizarro?”            
“ Because [Y/N]’s hair is white not like the bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood” He told her as he touched the black wolf drawn on the book cover. “Like the White Knight in _Through the Looking Glass_ ”     
“ How do you know this story?” She asked him surprised by his knowledge.       
“ Red him told me” Bizarro smiled, proud as a child and she smiled back at him, touched by his cuteness. “Red him tells Bizarro stories like [Y/N]. Red her too sometimes. Me love that.” He suddenly yawned and lay down on the floor holding his pup-pup against him. “Are you okay, Bizarro”  
“Bizarro feel … tired” He confessed as he searched for the right words. “Stories tend to make people sleep” She smiled at him and placed a blanket on top of him. “Have some rest”. He nodded and he closed his eyes. And she let a single tear streamed down her face. She needed air. She needed to get out of here. She needed to be alone, away from everyone.

                  She reached the rooftop and abruptly let herself fall on her knees. Her tears started pouring down on the floor as her breathing became irregular.             
She wanted to slap herself, to yell at herself for being so weak, for letting herself feel affection for Bizarro, for Jason or even for Artemis. She had a mission. She had to make a choice. 

“ It seems you’re loosing your abilities, [Y/N]”                   
She stood up with a jump when she heard that voice. Her eyes widened as she spotted a thin feminine silhouette up on the edge of the building                   
“ Sandra?”

The woman smiled and climbed off the edge and approached her, her long back coat flapping in the wind. [Y/N] had one step back. She knew she’d better keep her distance with the deadly assassin everyone knew as Lady Shiva.

“ Oh, dry your tears, sweetheart. Crying is not the way of the assassins.”         
“ I thought you weren’t working for Ra’s anymore. What are you doing here?”                
“ A woman has to make a living.” She had her hand on her sword and it was sparkling under the moonlight like a star “Ben called me. He knew I was not so far from Gotham. Told me I should keep an eye on you.” [Y/N] was on her guard. A frown had appeared on her face and she was discreetly curling her fingers on and on like an animal palpates the ground when it prepares itself to jump on its prey. “And I can see why. Imagine my surprise when I saw you all purring in Jason Todd’s arms on this rooftop.” [Y/N]’s eyes widened. Not only had Lady Shiva invaded her intimacy but also she had been following her for days without her realising it. This was humiliating and enraging. “Yes, I’ve been watching you. And I wasn’t the only one. You should work on your senses” Her permanent frown intensified as she tried to guess who, apart from Lady Shiva, was sneaky enough to fool her. “Relax. I don’t blame you. You had a moment of weakness. It happens to anyone. Plus, he is a gorgeous young man let’s admit it. I saw him with Talia. I know how sweet and caring he can be unlike Ben.”  
“ Did you tell him?” She dared saying, fearing the answer.         
“ About how intimate you are with the Red Hood? Yes, I did. I’m paid to give information.” [Y/N] sighed when she dared to imagine Ben’s face when he learned about his. He already feared that she would let her personal revenge prevail over the mission so there was no doubt that this dalliance must have enraged him. “He was angry. Not that you looked elsewhere but because he thought you strayed from the path.”                 
“ If it about the mission…” She urged to say before Shiva stopped her by pointing her sword at her.  
“ You have one task, [Y/N]. Bring the Red Hood back to Ra’s Al Ghul. And right now, it seems that you are failing.” She looked down thinking that she was probably right “I’m truly disappointed, [Y/N]. I thought I taught you well.”             
“ Taught me well?” She sneered “You taught me a code you weren’t even following. You’ve never been benevolent, Sandra, or honourable. So spare me your speech on the moral of the warrior.”  
“At least I’ve always been loyal contrary to you.”           
“ Don’t you dare…”          
“Where is your loyalty, [Y/N]? With the League of Assassins, the family that took you in and raised like one of their own when yours let you down? Or in Jason Todd’s bed?”

                  [Y/N] growled and immediately jumped on Lady Shiva but she was not a simple assassin. She was the best. She dodged her with grace. “You’re so predictable, [Y/N].” She laughed, twirling her sword in her hand. Of course, she was predictable. Every move she knew she had learned from Lady Shiva and Bronze Tiger. So if she wanted to win this fight, then she would have to surprise her.                  
She stayed still for a moment, focusing on her breathing, looking for inner calm. Once she did she glared at Shiva with that shade of luminescent gold in her eyes that made the female assassin slightly back up and tense her hand on the handle of her sword.     
[Y/N]’s bones began to crack, one by one but no scream of pain came out of her mouth. She had embraced this suffering long ago.                  
She had always faced Lady Shiva as a human. So tonight, she’d face her as a wolf.       
“ Finally, a challenge. Come here, beautiful.” The she-wolf snarled. Her white fur was bristled and her fangs looked as sharp as knives. She began to circle her opponent, looking for a breech, for the right moment to bounce on her. But when she realise that this little game could last forever she ran away and jumped from the rooftop. “Running away, little wolf?” Shiva asked as she started pursuing her.           
                  [Y/N] hurtled down the escape stairs, floor by floor. She finally reached the ground and immediately ran towards some dark alley to hide.                 
“ Don’t you think I know this trick, [Y/N]?” She asked as she was looking all around her with her sword erected. “ You’re going to jump from the shadows, just like Bronze Tiger taught you. I told you, you’re predictable.”              
“ Am I?” Lady Shiva jolted and turned around as she suddenly felt her behind her, back in her human form, naked. But she didn’t have the time to strike. [Y/N] kicked her sword and caught her by the neck to slam her right against a nearby wall.                 
“Surprised?” She asked as she felt her blood on her fingertips.                
“ Agreeably yes” The assassin smiled as she looked at her from head to toe. “But you lose anyway”.   
A piercing scream came out of [Y/N]’s mouth when she felt a sharp blade stabbed her in the stomach. She backed down, holding her wound with her hands to prevent her blood from flowing too fast. She eventually fell on the ground, her legs suddenly too weak to hold her.  
Lady Shiva approached her, her dagger stained with blood pointed towards her.         
“Come on. Finish me, Sandra. That’s why you came here, right?”           
“ Kill you? Oh my sweet [Y/N]. I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to help you.” Though she wanted to sound sweet and motherly, Sandra’s voice was like poison to [Y/N]‘s ear. “I’m here to remind you that if you fail or betray the league there always will be someone waiting to slit your throat in the shadow.” She pressed her wound, digging her fingers in it with a sadistic smile as she screamed again in pain “ This wound is for your own good. The Bat knows things about you. He’s smart. He can screw up your cover. This wound will perhaps make him think you’re not affiliated with the league in any way at least if you play the game.” Her sight was suddenly very blurry.“ Bring the Red Hood back to Ra’s Al Ghul and Ben might forget your deviation” Her head was spinning.“ Oh and from girl to girl, stop with this ridiculous … infatuation. Trust me it’ll only bring you pain” She collapsed. “Good bye, [Y/N]”


	17. Friendship

There was a time when toasts were symbols of trust as it consisted in spilling over some of your beverage in the other’s glass because of concerns about poisoning. Today, clinking glass is just a common way to celebrate. But something remained: Friendship.           
And tonight’s toast was indeed about friendship, about new alliances. Tonight’s toast was to commemorate the birth of the new Outlaws.

“ Congratulations to you three.” Ma Gunn raised her glass to the Outlaws who did the same, even Bizarro who had a bit of trouble understanding this strange custom as he was clumsily holding a glass of water since his partners didn’t know if a Kryptonian clone could actually drink alcohol.            
“ Thank you for allowing us to stay, Faye” Jason said between two sips of his scotch “Are you sure that you can manage Black Mask?”          
“ Boy, I knew the man when he was still in diapers. Trust me he doesn’t impress me. Plus, it seems that you three rendered him as soft as a puppy.”           
“ Speaking of puppies, Jason. Where is your friend?” Artemis looked at him from above her glass   
“ Come on, Red. Don’t play coy. It doesn’t fit you” He smiled at her, perfectly knowing that Artemis was actually enjoying [Y/N]’s absence contrary to him. _Where the hell is she?_     
“ I just find it strange that we haven’t seen her during the fight.”           
“ She must have a reason.” He frowned looking at the bottom of his glass. “Yes and it is called cowardice. After all, it is known: a lone wolf always runs away with its tail between its paws”      
“ You and your metaphors.”        
“ Again, what’s wrong with my metaphors?” She growled since it wasn’t the first time Jason was making a comment on her traditional metaphors    
“Nothing” He replied quickly as he drank his scotch down in one as if he wanted to drown his anxiety and cut this conversation short. He liked Artemis. He admired her strength and her determination but her tendencies to fly off the handle were sometimes a bit annoying. Heck, the amazon had the personality of a longshoreman .

                  Suddenly, Bizarro put abruptly his glass on the table and looked towards the main hall of the hideout. The state of alert of the Superman clone intrigued Jason, Artemis and Ma Gunn who stared at him with concern in their eyes.   
“ Bizarro what is it?”       
“ Me heard the door”

They all glanced at each other and in no time Jason armed his guns. Artemis nodded when he looked at her and gestured her to follow him. He opened the door silently to peek at the main entrance but he couldn’t see well from where he was. However, he noticed a handful of dead leaves flying at ground level in a draft of cold air that was blowing in through the main door. Someone had entered.   
Artemis spotted it as well. She placed her hand on the handle of her mighty axe, waiting for Jason’s signal to intervene.     
Once he gave it, they both jumped in the hall ready to attack. But they immediately reconsidered when they saw who was in the hall.

“ By the goddesses” Artemis whispered in shock.           
“ [Y/N]” Jason barely managed to say as his heart skipped a beat. She was on the doorstep, barely standing on her shivering paws, her white fur stained with red and dirt, a trail of blood behind her. Jason rushed towards her when he saw her slowly collapsing. He dropped his guns on the way and slid on the knees to catch her before she could hit the ground, holding her by the neck. “What happened to you?” She was crying softly in his arms. He petted her head and she looked at him with tears in her golden eyes.           
Her bones started to crack one by one and she began to cry out in pain. Jason tightened his embrace to hold her still. The noise alerted Bizarro and Mrs Gunn. “What the hell is that?” The old woman asked as she witnessed the she-wolf slowly swapping her white fur and beastly appearance for a human feminine body.       
None of them had ever seen anything like this before.                  
Jason couldn’t let her go. She looked as if she was breaking like mere glass, right here in his arms. And he began to blame himself for not being able to do anything to ease her pain. “It’s okay. Breathe.” He whispered holding her against his chest, her blood dirtying his clothes as she was writhing out of pain.              
And then she stopped moving. Back in her human form, she was still but in a pitiful shape. Her face was as pale as her white hair. Her naked body that usually looked so strong appeared to be so frail covered in dirt, sweat and blood. Jason moved few strands of her hair away from her face. Her forehead was so cold. “Jason.” She whispered slowly before passing out in his arms.                   
He stared at her, worried, caressing her face to wake her up. Faye Gunn kneeled by him to place her shawl on the girl’s body to warm her up and look for her pulse. “She’s weak. Take her and follow me”

Jason obeyed and quickly followed the woman to what looked like an old kitchen in which an operating theatre was set up. Strange idea but Ma Gunn was not known to be conventional. “Lay her here” She pointed at a clean stainless steel table. Jason delicately laid her down and caressed her forehead while Faye was taking a look at the wound.         
“ Considering the depth of the wound it looks like she was stabbed with some dagger.”           
“ Can you help her?” Mrs Gunn looked at his old boarder with a smile, definitely willing to reassure him.      
“ Didn’t I mention I was a surgeon in a M.A.S.H unit during the Korean War?”                  
“ But have you ever healed a metahuman?” Artemis asked, doubtful about her skills.               
“ A stab wound is still a stab wound. Metahuman or not. Plus, she looks pretty human to me right now” She replied as she placed electrodes on [Y/N]’s chest to keep a close watch on her heart rate that was a bit too low. “Come on hang on, sweet pea” She inserted a catheter in the top of her hand that she ultimately linked to a syringe placed in a plumb. “ She has lost a lot of blood. She needs a transfusion. Anyone is a type O in here?”  
“ I am.” Jason said quickly. “But isn’t it risky for her? I mean we don’t know if human blood…”               
“ If we do nothing, she’ll bleed to death so it’s worth the try. Come on, hold your arm out, boy.” He lift up his sleeve and hold out his arm so that Ma Gunn could intravenously transfuse his blood directly to [Y/N]. “ Perhaps you two should leave.”                
“ [Y/N] am going to be fine?”        
“ Yes Bizarro, she will be.” Jason failed at smiling.          
“ You don’t know that.”  Artemis replied with that eternal severity in her voice.              
“ Artemis. Stop with your pessimism already!” The yell surprised Artemis whose eyes widened in shock. She barely knew Jason but hearing him scream at her was something she would have never expected from him.     

She could have retorted but she decided to leave, taking Bizarro with her. Jason was edgy and she could understand why. After all, she remembered having the same look in her eyes when she had held Akila in her arms during her last moments. That mix of fear and hope as you wonder if the person you love so deeply will make it.      

“ It’s a good thing she passed out. This is gonna hurt like a bitch” Ma Gunn said as she grabbed a pair of retractors.    
“ You’ll be okay, I swear” Jason whispered before gently kissing her forehead.

                  He didn’t leave her side, nor did he release her hand during the entire surgery and even after. He stayed to watch over her, to make sure she was fine and truly out of danger. Ma Gunn came regularly to check her vitals and Bizarro went to sit at her side a couple of times to tell her how much he wanted her to wake up to read him stories. He even placed his dear pup-pup on her bed to protect her. And strangely, Artemis came too though she remained practically silent the entire time.   
But there was a visit Jason never wanted. And, as usual, it appeared out of nowhere, wrapped in his black cape, silent and dark as the night.      

“ What are you doing, here? How did you find this place?” Jason growled when he spotted his shadow. But he didn’t answer and approached the bed with a glare “Right. Forget I asked.”                   
“ What happened to her?”           
“ She was stabbed. But I’m guessing you’re not here to check in with her.”      
“ You’re right. Though I’m here because of her.” Jason sighed knowing perfectly what Bruce was thinking about. After all, he was just like a dog with a bone. When he had something in mind he never let go. “ We never got the chance to talk about her.”           
“ You mean you didn’t want to ruin our moment last night, or you were just afraid I would not digest my burger properly.” Bruce preferred not to rise to Jason’s sarcasm. He knew him all to well to know any sort of reaction would create another never-ending ridiculous altercation and he wasn’t here for that.  
“ Jim called last night. People in Downtown Gotham informed the GCPD that they spotted a giant wolf and a lady with a sword on a rooftop. So I went there. Found traces of blood and hairs.”            
“ Come on, Bruce. Get to the point already. What do you want to say?”              
“I ran a DNA test. Not only it confirmed the suspicions I had on your friend but it also gave me the identity of her assailant. Lady Shiva” Jason’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly glanced towards [Y/N] wondering why his former League of Assassins partner would come after her. Surely Bruce already had an idea.                  
“ Why would Shiva attack [Y/N]?” His mentor remained quiet but his silence has its reason. He knew. Of course he knew. He was the Detective. “Bruce.” Jason insisted.                 
“ Jason. I know you. I know that even though terrible things happened to you, you are still the same boy who was my partner years ago. I know how much you can care for people that have been hurt or that have been victims of injustice. I know you would do anything to protect them. So I’m not surprised that you bonded with that girl.”                     
“ But … There’s always a ‘but’ with you.”              
“ What do you know about her?”              
“ I know enough.”              
“ Enough for what?”         
“ Enough to know that I can trust her.” He growled at him “We all have our secrets, Bruce, and you are well placed to know this. So yeah, perhaps I don’t know much about her. But it takes time for people to open up. And I believe she will, one day.”       
“ Yes, I know first hand what it is to have secrets. But her secrets will entail your death”         
“ Death?” The young man repeated with a chuckle, not at all scared “Find better than this, old man”

The bat remained emotionless, as usual. It was something Jason always despised even during his days as Robin for it was unsettling and irritating. It had even caused more than one conflict between both men.

The mentor took out something of his belt: a flash drive that he placed on a table nearby.  

“ What’s this?” Jason asked with a frown.            
“ Files on her. Everything you should know is in there. I know that I can’t force you to read it and I know you won’t listen to me if I tell you the truth. So I’ll leave you the choice to do whatever you like with this. But Jason, remember that I warned you” He opened the window to leave silently but Red Hood wasn’t ready to let him go yet.“ I know what you’re doing, you know?” Squatting on the window framework, the bat glanced at his old sidekick. “ You think that once I’ve read this piece of shit I’ll reject her and therefore won’t interfere when you’ll come to send her to Blackgate. You think that if things happen the way you planned them then I won’t turn my back on you again. Well guess what? Not gonna happen. So you can shove that fucking file up your bat-ass.” He threw the device at him but it fell on the ground, as the Bat remained still.                  
“ Not Blackgate, Jason. Arkham.” And he left, leaving Jason rather confused.              

He looked back at his sleeping beauty with a frown. _Dammit [Y/N] what have you done?_

When you toast you celebrate friendship. But what is friendship? Is friendship hiding our past? Is friendship lying? Or is friendship being hesitant with a flash drive in one hand and the hand of the one we care so much for in the other?


	18. Gloria

How could _he_ have done that? He was ashamed. Here, staring at his computer screen. He had violated her secrets. He had violated the secrets of the woman he loved.    
But how could _she_ have done that? He was angry. Here, staring at this name. At her real name. she had betrayed him. She had betrayed the man he thought she loved.

[Y/N] STANSON … STANSON…

He knew that name all too well. It had haunted him back in his Robin days. It had destroyed him. It was the name of his first failure. The name of the woman he could not save. The name of the woman who had made him cross the line for the first time.

Gloria Stanson. She was a model, a beautiful young woman with glimmering blue eyes, shining golden hair and a smile to die for. Well, at least, that is how she looked like on the pictures he had seen of her.                
The day he met her she was nothing like that. She was broken; her eyes filled with terror, her face and naked body covered with bruises hidden under the sheets of the filthy bed _he_ had raped her in. Felipe Garzonas. Some son of rich diplomat involved in drug traffic and protected by his beloved father.         
Jason had thought that he and Batman could bring him to justice but there was no justice for men like Garzonas. And he learned that the hard way.          
He learned that when he found Gloria again, in her own room this time, swinging at the end of a rope. Gloria had been like cracked crystal, beautiful but too fragile for this world inhabited by monsters like Felipe Garzonas.      

“What are you doing?” A voice coming from behind him made him jump. [Y/N] was here, wearing one of Jason’s large t-shirts. She looked as if she was ready to fall. Her knees were slightly bent and she was holding to the doorframe.         
“[Y/N]. You should be in bed.” Jason immediately said as he ran towards her but she pushed him and approached his desk to have a look at his computer. “ Where did you get this?”              
“ Batman gave it to me. When would you have told me?”          
She didn’t answer, still staring at her file. Everything was there. From her family record book to her internment at Arkham Asylum.    
“ Did you read it all?” She had tears in her eyes.             
“When would you have told me?” He repeated. “No. Let me correct it. Would you have told me?” But she ignored him again, and simply asked again, this time, more firmly. “Jay. Did you read it?”  
“ No. Not down to the very last detail. The beginning was already tough to take in. Now tell me, would you have told me?” She lowered her eyes, ashamed. He took her silence as a no but he wasn’t surprised, just disappointed.“ That’s what I thought”                
“ Let me explain!” She tried to scream but her voice was too broken, reduced to a mere croaky pleading.    
“ No! I don’t need to hear you don’t trust me. I already know”                 
“ I do trust you.”                
“ Then why?” He was angry but most of all he was sad and hurt. She looked at him with pity and shame. “ My past is not glorious.”               
“ Because mine is? I don’t judge you, [Y/N]. I’ve never judged you. On the contrary, I accept you for whoever you are. I just … I just need to hear the truth. What is your story?”        
“ I can’t tell you.” She turned away from him and sat down. She couldn’t look at him. Instead, she stood there, still, staring at her tiny pale cold hands.                    
Jason wanted to grab them in his, kneeled in front of her. He wanted to whisper a loving and reassuring “Tell me”. Instead he just clenched his fists and jaw and growled “Just fucking tell me and no lies this time.”

She briefly peeked at him, with tears in her grey eyes and after a deep breath she started her story. No more lies.      
“ I was born in Gotham from very modest parents. My mum was a mere cashier working her ass off in a convenience store while my father was getting more and more involved in Black Mask’s drug business each day. But I told you that. I had a sister as well: Gloria. She was perfect. I looked up to her. She was beautiful, funny, smart … and way too loyal to our family. When my mother died, my dad got her involved in a cocaine traffic he was working on. He always loved her best and he knew no man could resist her. She was a model after all while I … I was the rebel daughter who still held him responsible for my mother’s death.”              
A tear fell along her cheeks as she visualised her dead mother in that armchair, covered in snow, foamy saliva and white powder. “ One day things went terribly bad. My sister had trouble with a guy named Felipe Garzonas.” The name sent shivers back down Jason’s spine.  
“ The diplomat’s son. He raped your sister. Got away with that.”          
“ And she killed herself. Jumped off a chair with a noose around her neck. In my darkest nightmares I can still hear the rope creaking and see her body swinging. But you can relate, right? You found her body and you killed him.”

He didn’t reply, too shocked to say a word. No one knew about that. Not even Batman. He always told him it was an accident. He always said he slipped and fell from the balcony after the young Robin spooked him.                   
But the truth is, he did push him. And he could still picture himself doing it, his hands on his chest, catching him by surprise.

“I saw you, at his apartment. I was coming for him too, with a knife in my pocket. You were on the balcony, facing him in your colourful Robin costume and you pushed him over. His body fell. He screamed and hit the ground and you stared at his corpse. You were so angry but I … I was so satisfied… at least for a brief moment. But the truth is, Gloria would have never killed herself if my father hadn’t involved her in this mess.” Jason shivered as he felt where the story was going. “I came back home. My father was here. He was counting dollar bills on the kitchen table as if nothing had happened. He looked at me from head to toes, threw a dress at me and told me “ that should do it””

She made a pause in her story. She hadn’t told anybody about this since the day before they sent her to Arkham. But like that day, the words were like thin needles stabbing her heart and stomach.

“My dad wanted to prostitute me.” She finally managed to say “But I wasn’t my sister. So I told him to fuck off, that I was leaving, that I didn’t want to see him again and that I’d grass him up to the cops. It drove it mad so he caught me by my hair, put me down on the ground and started beating me up. I screamed for help. No one came. I knew he would eventually kill me. So I took the knife that I wanted to use on Garzonas and stabbed him in the stomach. And then the worst happened. My blood began to boil in my veins and my bones broke one by one as if a vice was crushing them slowly. I felt like it lasted hours but the truth is I’m in barely took a couple of minutes.”      
“ You turned.”  Jason said calmly and with compassion for the little girl who had lost everything, her mother, her sister, her father …          
“ I’ve never felt so much pain. I eventually lost consciousness … or control... I don't know. I wasn’t myself anymore. I was a beast. I still can’t remember what really happened that night but I can still hear my dad screaming for mercy, in pain. When I came back to myself, I was naked on the ground, my [Y/HC] hair had turned white and my father's heart was in my hand as his limbs were scattered all over the living room. I had never seen so much blood. I felt guilty and strangely … sad. I called the GCPD, told them what happened. Even though they saw the paw prints in the room, they found a perfect logical explanation. My neighbour’s German Shepards. I was pleading guilty for my father’s murder and they told me I was a crazy traumatized little girl. “The poor girl is orphan now… I think trauma turned her mad… Perhaps we should send her to Arkham”                
“ And you were.”               
“ And I was”

That was a lot to take in even for someone like Jason who had heard, seen and experienced so much despite his young years. The entire story, all this was just too much. All the lies were too much. He couldn’t look at her. But, he knew there was more. And he desperately wanted to know. He probably was a masochist.

“ But you escaped. How? What happened back there?”              
“ Don’t you remember the fire in Arkham Asylum a couple months after?” Yes, he does. It had destroyed an entire wing of Arkham and the evidence of frame-up along with it. Took days for Batman to truly understand how it happened. “ Yeah. Joker got out again with Firefly’s help.”  
“ And Bronze Tiger’s.” Jason eyes widened. “ What?” Bronze Tiger wasn’t in Arkham. He would have known. He had seen the inmates list. He could see remember it. “Bronze Tiger. Ben Turner.” And then he understood. “Bronze tiger is your mentor.” He wasn’t a question. Of course he was. What’s better than a shapeshifter to train another shapeshifter.     
“He broke me out of Arkham, took me with him to ‘Eth Alth’Eban and I joined the League of Assassins.”

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Jason silently turned his back and clenched his fist so tight his nails almost drew blood from his palm. No she couldn’t! Not that! Not to him!

“ I don’t want to lie anymore, Jason. I’m a murderer. I’ve killed for the League, for Ra’s Al Ghul, for Bronze Tiger. They sent me to Gotham… to find you and bring you back to ‘Eth Alth’Eban.” She thought revealing the truth would ease the burden on her shoulder but she felt terrible. There’s was no freedom in the truth, just an intense loneliness.         
“ Are you telling me you tricked me?” Jason managed to say though his voice sounded so broken and miserable.    
“ No. I never did it.” She rushed towards him to catch his arm as she noticed he was on the verge of tears. “I refused to do what the League wanted and that’s why Lady Shiva went after me. They still think I’m in their team but …” He pushed her away, without a look. Just with a simple arm move. “Honestly [Y/N] I don’t know if I believe that.” She lowered her eyes. She could understand.                  
“ I need to be alone for a while. So please just leave this place”            
“ Jay” She begged in a whisper “Please don’t”                  
“Leave!!”

There are moments that will always haunt you. Memories, so terrible, they appear in your worst nightmares as ghosts from an awful past.                   
For Jason, it used to be the Joker beating him up to death with a crowbar in a filthy bunker in Qurac. For [Y/N], it was the death of her entire family. But today, both of them knew, they will forever be haunted by the face of the other, staring with tears in their eyes, as their heart cries out in pain.


	19. The Bait

Men aspire to be exceptional, to do incredible things. As children, they wish to become presidents, astronauts, vets or even princesses or knights or dragon slayers. They want to save lives. They want to make people happy. They want to make their parents proud. Normality bores them. Perhaps because it represents this endless routine they live in and witness every day. But few achieve that goal.

Only one child became Batman, as only one became Superman or Wonder Woman. And only one child became the White Wolf. [Y/N] [Y/LN]

Droplets of fresh water falling on her face woke her up slowly. She blinked. Her sight was blurred. Her head was so heavy, as her body. She growled. Something was restraining her, holding her by the arms. Her shoulders hurt. It took her few seconds to realise they were holding her entire weight, now hanging from the ceiling of a dark cave.

“ Where am I?”                   
“ Finally. Took you long enough, sweetheart” She knew that voice all too well. It never truly scared her until today. “Ben.” She whispered. “How did I get here?”                     
“You should have not wandered in Gotham City, alone and wounded. But I’m guessing you didn’t have anywhere else to go.” He had that satisfied smile on his face. She hated that smile “He dumped you, didn’t he?” She didn’t reply. She didn’t want to give him the pleasure to hear the pain in her voice. “Nevermind, he’ll still come here. He’ll look for you. He and his Outlaws. They’ll all come eventually.”  
“ You don’t know them if you think they’ll come rescue me. They think I’m a traitor. They won’t risk their skins for me”           
“ I believe they will. Especially when they receive our invitation.”        
“ Our invitation?”

A man came out of the shadow. [Y/N] frowned to discern his silhouette in the dark. When she finally spotted a green and gold outfit and a very distinctive goatee, she gasped. “ Ra’s”          
“ Greetings, [Y/N].” He had that vile treacherous smile on his face. “It has been a while since we saw each other. I heard so much about your adventure. It appalled me, truly. That one of my most precious formidable assassin would deny my hospitability and generosity, …” He cupped her face, his fingers clenching around it like sharp talons “…betray me and for what? A ridiculous infatuation with a bat?”                 
Infatuation? It was way more than that. But she didn’t dare say it out loud. She didn’t want to set him off. She was already in enough trouble. “But it didn’t surprise me.” She stared at him with a frown. “After all, you were both ‘fated’ to become besotted with each other. Two broken children, orphans, who saw their family taken away from them because of drugs, sidekicks trained to serve a special cause. And with that darkness inside of them. Of course, you couldn’t resist him as much as he couldn’t resist you.” She lowered her eyes. He was right. They were so much alike. That’s why she loved him, somehow. Because he showed her that she could be someone good too, that she could be like him. “And that’s why he’ll come for you and we will wait patiently for him, and the others, won’t we Circe?”            
“Indeed.” Circe? This was bad, terribly bad. [Y/N] shivered as she saw the red-haired goddess approaching her. “Oh my. You are beautiful.” She caressed [Y/N]’s white hair with a smile as her red and yellow eyes were staring at her as if they were actually piercing her soul. “Even more beautiful than in my memories.”      
“ I don’t think we’ve ever met.”                 
“ That’s true, [Y/N] Stanson. But I did meet your alter ego, a long time ago. The white wolf. Wepwawet.”

She had just called her Wepwawet. Who the hell was Wepwawet? [Y/N] couldn’t hide her ignorance and Circe could read it on her face. No magical powers needed. “You didn’t know?” Know what, witch? “Of course you didn’t. You’re just a pathetic human being. How come would you know anything about the gods?”                     
“ What are you saying, lady?”                     
“ I’m saying only a human cannot realise they share their body with a god.”                    
[Y/N]’s eyes widened. She was no god. She was just this regular girl possessed by some kind of demon for no explainable reason. Someone probably picked randomly to be cursed for her entire life, probably as a punishment for all of her sins.               
“ Wepwawet is an Egyptian deity. A god able to turn itself into a wolf. A protector of Ra, the opener of the ways, the one that will lead his army. Actually, one of the gods your friend Artemis cherishes among many. Funny she doesn’t seem to actually like you.”                  
“ Well she can be a brat.” Ben chuckled. “But at least, right now, we know you’re a special brat.”  
“ Indeed. Because thanks to you, my dear” Ra’s began to say. “Not only will you bring both trinities to us but through we will have full access to the power of Ra and release the greatest army the world has ever seen.”          
“ You will open the way, accomplish your purpose” Circe continued “But for that. I need the Goddess. Not the human. Not the wolf. The Goddess”               
She drew a knife from her belt. Its nacre-coloured blade magically shone like the moon in the darkness of the cave. The witch approached it dangerously from [Y/N]’s chest. The tip pierced her skin slowly. “It’s going to hurt. A lot”

* * *

 

“Faye? What’s wrong?” Jason asked as the scared old woman was staring at a cardboard box. It took Jason a mere instant to notice that the bottom was drenched in blood.           
“ The mailman. He left this for you.” She handed him a letter with her shaking hands. He had never seen the old woman like that. She looked terrified and upset. It worried Jason whose eyes darkened in concern and anger.

“أغدر من ذئب

أغزل من امرئ القيس.

احذر عدوك مرة وصديقك ألف مرة فإن انقلب الصديق فهو أعلم بالمضرة"

He didn’t speak Arabic. But he knew who did. Jason slowly opened the box and then quickly looked away, disgusted by what was inside. A white wolf freshly skinned, covered in blood and rose petals. The stench was even more terrible than the slaughtered animal itself. But what was truly worrying Jason was… “[Y/N]” She was in big trouble. The message was clear and the Arabic letter meant one thing: Ra’s Al Ghul had her.                  
His first reflex was to call Artemis for help and advice. Together in the lab/kitchen of their unconventional hideout, they examined the bloody package.                   
“ It’s clearly an invitation from Ra’s Al Ghul.”    
“ You mean a trap.” The amazon corrected with a frown as she was typing on the computer.“ The letter is a mix of Arabic proverbs. ‘More treacherous than a wolf. More flirty than Imru' al-Qais. Be careful of your enemy once and of your friend a thousand times, for a double crossing friend knows more about what harms you.’” The letter was of course referring to [Y/N] and Jason’s affair and how she had betrayed him. The last proverb, however, the double-crossing friend was still a mystery. But he didn’t want to waste time on stupid enigmas. She was in danger and she needed him. And even though she had broken his heart with her lies he couldn’t let her down.             
“Red, can you try to track the mail thanks to the number on the box?”                
“ On it. What’s it you’re looking for.” She asked as he was analysing some of the animal’s white hairs on the computer. “Anything on the skin that could give me clues on its origin.”          
“ You want to go rescue her, don’t you?”              
“ I’m not asking you to come with me, Red.”      
“ No. Let’s do this.” She smiled at him. “We’re in this together.”

* * *

 

She was bleeding, a lot. She could feel and hear her blood dropping on the humid ground. _Blop, blop, blop._ As she was struggling to stay on her tiptoes, growls of pain would come out of her clenched jaw every time she would try to straighten up. And inside of her, the wolf was raging, trying to get out of her human envelope to break those stupid chains and tear apart that freaking witch and everyone else in this room, including the man staring at her. But that’s exactly what they wanted. “ Stop resisting.” Ben pleaded. “Let her out. You know, I don’t like seeing you like this.”                  
“ Somehow, I doubt it. Cause that would mean you care and we both you don’t have a heart.” She managed to smile ironically; glad weakness hadn’t made her lose her spunk.                   
“ Then why did I take a young orphan girl under my wing, ten years ago?”          
“ I don’t know. You tell me.” Because she would love to know. Why did he take her with him? Break her out of Arkham? Bring her to ‘Eth Alth’Eban? Because he loved her? Because he pitied her? That poor orphan patricide girl.       
“ I thought you loved me.” He was changing the subject. Of course he was. “ I did, once. Or at least I thought I did”                    
“ And then the Red Hood stole your heart.” She thought she heard sadness in his voice but if indeed it was sadness then it was because his ego was hurt, nothing more. She was sure of it. “Nobody stole my heart. I just stopped ‘loving’ you. And if you want to know why, just look what you’re doing to me right now. I guess you’ll have a pretty clear answer.”         
“ You betrayed the league. You betrayed me.”                  
“ I did and I don’t regret it” That confession was a relief. She had wanted to say it for so long. “So you don’t care what is going to happen to you?” He asked truly surprised she didn’t value life at all.      
“ Nothing really matters now” She had nothing left to lose. No friends, no family, nor the man she loved. “Really? So dying all alone in a dark cave doesn’t even sadden you?”     
“ No. I actually like the way my life rhymes.” Alone at the beginning. Alone at the end. Still in the dark.            
“ It’s time.” Circe said as she arrived behind Ben, like a ghost, with Ra’s at her side. He nodded and loosened her restrains. [Y/N] fell abruptly on the humid cold ground. Her entire body was numb from exhaustion and pain. Shivering on the ground, she could feel this weird hotness inside of her and this terrible heaviness as if her limbs were made of stone. She couldn’t stand up.        
“ Come on. Get up.” Her old master said as he caught her by the arms to drag her down towards the witch. He let her fall at her feet. She growled from the pain.                    
“ Still not ready to let the goddess out?”              
“ Fuck you” Circe looked briefly at the Demon’s head who nodded in approbation. “Very well. Since you’re immune to pain. Let’s try something else.” She peeked at the Pandora’s pit whose water was bowling.

* * *

 

The cave was endless. The team felt like this underground road was leading them nowhere except to a huge trap.                   
“ Since when are we suicidal?” Artemis asked as she was observing her surroundings, ready to get attacked at any moment.            
“ I thought we were in this together.”   
“ And I’m not taking back my words. I’m just asking when did we become that stupid.”              
“ [Y/N] am in danger…”                    
“ … And the demon Etrigan has been released. But we’re still running into the lion’s den.”     
“ So what? Do you think we should call the Justice League. I bet Diana would love to help.”                    
“ Certainly not. I don’t need her.” She was vexed, not understanding the sarcasm. It made Jason slightly chuckled. Usually he would have laughed but he was too worried to do so.  
“ Am Reds hear that?” Bizarro stopped walking. Jason and Artemis pricked up their ears. They could hear a slight distant sound approaching them. “What is it? Bats?” Artemis asked.   
“ No. Bigger.” Artemis didn’t wait and immediately called her axe as Jason pulled out his guns to load them with real bullets. The sound was coming closer and soon they began to hear small atrocious squeaks and menacing clanks.           
“ Parademons!!” Artemis yelled


	20. Kill The Wolf

“I always knew you were a tough one … but that tough? No” Ben scoffed as he was squatting next to her. “Who would have thought you could take so much pain after everything that happened.” He took a look at the pool of blood at his feet, the pool of her blood spreading on the humid ground. He was smiling, enjoying it. “Seriously, the man you love is certainly dead by now along with his friends all because he came to save your sorry ass – which is not worth it, he and I both know this. So, why keep on fighting? You’re alone now. Let go.” So long for the “I hate seeing you like this” thing.     
[Y/N] moaned through her gritted teeth, trying to swallow the pain invading more and more her broken body. How long have they been torturing her? Hours, Days? She couldn’t tell but she could remember the incessant stabbing, the punches, her sore body in the boiling Pandora’s pits, the water drowning her lungs.                     
Inside those pits, she had seen such terrible things, horrors. She had seen herself as a child surrounded by her mother’s corpse covered in snow on that armchair, her sister’s corpse swinging at the end of a rope and the remains of her father spread on the floor. She had seen a white she-wolf, sitting in front of her, staring, her immaculate fur covered in red. And she had heard a snake whistling in her ears on and on how this was all her fault, how guilty she was and how angry she should be. She had never been so tormented in her entire life. But there was this thing that would never be taken away from her, this person that would always pick her up. Jason. He had made the snake crawl away from her to let the wolf run after it.

But now he was … no more?        
She let a tear fall along her face. She couldn’t move anymore. Her body was like deeply paralysed. Her strength, completely gone. “It shouldn’t be long now. But don’t worry. It will be painless. As the last drop of blood leaves your body you’ll just fall asleep. Forever… And who knows, maybe you’ll find the Red Hood in heaven … Naah, who am I kidding? You’ll see him in hell.”

“Not before I see you in hell, scumbag!” That voice. [Y/N] smiled lightly when she heard it. He was alive and he was here. “Jason” She whispered inaudibly.          
She felt Ben catching her heavy numb body and making her stand up, holding her tightly against him as a shield. “ Oh well. You’re still alive.”          
“ I actually came back from the dead again. Long story. And I don’t want to share it with you.”  
“ So much chitchat. Are you still trying to gain time like the bat taught you?”                   
“ I’m actually trying to decide where I’m going to put a bullet. Between your eyes? Or in your heart?” Jason joked as he aimed consecutively both places with his gun. “Man, you know what?” He took his other berretta in his hand. “I’ve got two babies here so let’s go for both.” Bronze Tiger scoffed, not impressed at all by his old friend. He knew him. He knew his weaknesses. He knew he was the kind of man that cared too much, that would rather sacrifice himself to save the ones he loved.                
And right now he had the woman he loved in his arms. “You won’t shoot me. Because you know I’ll rip her heart out before you pull the damn trigger.” He dug his nails in [Y/N]’s bloody wound right below her rib cage. She screamed from the pain as she felt his fingers burying deeper in her flesh, under her ribs, so close to her slowing heart. “And I can feel her heart right now.”               
Jason winced in anger and looked briefly at [Y/N] with fear and worry in his blue eyes. She had lost too much blood. He had to do something, quickly. “Now. Put the gun down, little man”

“I’m the only one who can call him that.” Ben felt the tip of a pointed blade in his neck, right between his cervical vertebras. He slightly stiffened and turned his head to notice Artemis and her mighty axe ready to cut his head off. “Now let go off my friend, slowly” Artemis threatened, between her teeth.             
Jason’s smile was back because now that Artemis was here to help he knew he got the advantage.  
“ You always knew how to surround yourself with powerful women”                   
“ Chicks dig the red helmet, I guess.” Artemis raised an eyebrow that only Jason noticed. “Now let [Y/N] go. Unless you want my Kryptonian friend and some Justice League members to join the party as well” Ben clenched his jaw and slowly let go of [Y/N] who managed to stumble towards Jason. He caught her back in his arms before she hit the ground and wrapped her up in his strong embrace. “It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re going to get you out of here.”                 
“ Thank you.” She whispered as she let another tear roll on her face. “You’ll thank me later” He smiled lightly, his gun still aimed at Bronze Tiger. “As much as I want you dead right now, you’re going to Arkham.”       
“ Damn, you’ve softened…Daddy’s moral. I get it.” Ben laughed. Artemis pressed her axe more against his neck. “ You must be proud, Bats.” Jason turned slightly around to see Bruce standing right behind him along with Wonder Woman, Superman, Bizarro, Constantine, Zatanna and Circe. But that little moment of inattention was enough for Ben to take his dagger and stab Artemis in the thigh. “Artemis!” Jason yelled as she cried out in pain, dropping her axe on the ground. And, just like that, by pure reflex, Jason just shot! “Jason, don’t!” Bruce screamed.

But it was too late. The bullet was already flying away like lightning and it hit the tiger man right where it was meant to hit him. In the legs, piercing both calves with a simple shot. Ben screamed in pain and stumbled, completely unsteady, right in the Pandora’s pit.

Unfortunately, this time no one got the time to jump to save his life as the water in a weird snake shape started violently drowning him like an alligator drowning its prey in a river. “Help me!!!!” He yelled underwater, letting the boiling greenish water flooding is lungs and dragging him down the depths. Those were his last words.

“What was that?” Superman asked, worried. “Nothing you could have vanquished.” Circe said calmly as she knew exactly what the creature was.              
“Artemis, you’re okay?” Diana asked as she helped her fellow Amazon stand up. “Yes. Just a mere flesh wound.” The red head frowned, refusing Diana’s helping hand. “How’s [Y/N]?”      
“ Bad.” Jason was worried. She had closed her eyes. “Come on [Y/N]. Wake up.” He caressed her bloodstained cheek, hoping desperately to see her beautiful eyes open.            
“Am barely hear her heart” Bizarro admitted with a trembling voice.                   
“Come on. Hold on! You’re strong. You’re gonna make it!” Was Jason trying to convince her or convince himself? Probably both. But he didn’t want to give up. He couldn’t give up.                
“ She’s dying. There is nothing you can do, right now.” Circe claimed with a stone-cold voice that infuriated Jason who would have jumped on her to strangle her if it wasn’t for the girl in his arms. “There must be something you can do.” Constantine claimed. “After all, this is was your plan all along, wasn’t it, dear?”             
“ Don’t make us regret we saved you, Circe!” Wonder Woman’s tone made the witch shiver and she approached [Y/N] in Jason’s arm, kneeling by their sides. “I can still try. But the plan you’re talking about didn’t work”       
“Just shut up and save her.” Jason growled.      
She laid her cold hand on her just as cold face and let it slip along her body, her eyes closed, looking for something, anything that could help. When she reached her bruised stomach, she froze. “Οὐ δυνατόν ἐστιν!” She whispered, astonished. “I know why it didn’t work. I know what to do to save her.”  
“Then do it” Jason just yelled, angry that she was still talking while [Y/N] was still dying in his arms. “I need my dagger”       
“ What? What for?” Jason glowered at her. As if, he would allow anyone to give that witch a weapon. “To kill her.” The words paralysed Jason. His eyes widened. He couldn’t have heard that. She hadn’t say it. Impossible. “What?”                   
“ She needs to die, now” She insisted, stretching out her hand asking for her dagger. “NO!!” Jason yelled again, tightening his embrace around the body of the girl he loved. “You said you were going to save her.”     
“ And I will. But if you keep yelling at me and refusing what I need then he’ll be too late.”        
“ No way we are giving you back your dagger” Diana replied. “It may be another trap. Don’t expect us to trust you.” Batman added.              
“ Then she’ll die.” Everything she was saying wasn’t making any sense to them. However, against all odds, Zatanna handed her the dagger. “No! What are you doing?!!” Jason growled as he tried to shield [Y/N]. “You have nothing to lose Jason. She’s already dying.”                     
“ You’ve felt it too, didn’t you?” The witch asked the raven-haired magician with a smirk as she seized the blade. “If you betray us I send you back in the pit.”        
“Fine” She smiled and started to whisper something to the dagger, something no one heard or understood, a powerful ancient spell. It began to glow but the light only lasted a couple of seconds. “Hold her arms tight. Cause this is going to hurt”

Jason obeyed and watched powerless as Circe placed the tip of the blade on [Y/N]’s chest. He breathed in, deeply, loudly as she raised the weapon and closed his eyes when she gestured to stab the girl he loved right in the heart. He couldn’t see that. But he heard it and he felt it. He heard when she quietly moaned from the pain. And he felt her body tensed and relaxed as it welcomed the blade and the last stroke. She was released, released from the pain, from the guilt from all the bad that had happened to her.        
When Jason dared open his eyes again, he gasped. The vision was horrible. She was bleeding, terribly. Her shirt was soaked in red and blood was slowly running from her nose. But the most terrible thing was realising he was holding her lifeless body. Despite his efforts, he let out a single tear. _She will come back._ _Right? Right?_  
“Why is it taking so long?” He asked when he noticed she was still dead in his arms. “I … I don’t know.” Circe muttered. She was confused. It should have worked. “I don’t understand”      
“ WHAT DID YOU DO?!!!” Jason howled, letting go of [Y/N]’s body, ready to kill the witch with his bare hands. “Jason!” Bruce growled as he interfered, holding the young man by his arms. He stopped and looked at him. Tears were rolling on his cheeks. “She can’t be dead.” Bruce didn’t know what to say. He knew that pain all to well. He knew that there was no word to say right now. So instead, he just took him in his arms. “She can’t … she … Not her. Not again” The father tightened his embrace but it wasn’t strong enough to prevent his beloved son from falling to the ground. “Fuck! FUUUUUUCK!!” He yelled as he punched the ground, crying as he never did before … or as he did once, when he had found his mother dead in the bathroom. And just like he did years ago, he crawled towards the inanimate body before him to hug him one last time, hoping she would hug him back. But nothing. Just a cold bloody embrace

“It should have worked. It should… It should have worked” Circe was repeating on and on, confused and shocked by her failure. “Oh shut up!” Artemis barked as she seized her axe. “Hey!” Superman said as she grabbed the axe. “ That won’t change what happened. So stop th…” He stopped his sentence and turned to face Jason. “Do you hear that?”                
“ What? Her skull cracking in tiny little pieces? No, not yet” Artemis joked, annoyed and angry.           
“ Am can heart it … A … a heartbeat” Clark looked at Bruce, astonished.“Jason.” Bruce called out. But he didn’t hear it. He didn’t want to hear anything right now. Nor did he want this hand on him. “Jason” His eyes widened and he looked up to see two half-opened grey eyes searching for him. “[Y/N]” He couldn’t believe it. _Please God, tell me I’m not dreaming or hallucinating or …_ “You’re here. You’re alive.” She had trouble breathing normally but yes she was alive. He sit up and cupped her face before kissing her forehead. “You’re safe”       
And he was never going to leave ever again.


	21. One Last Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew I said it was the last chapter, but the ending was so long I decided to make it in two chapters and give you one final smut ;-)

People change when they come back from the dead.  
Jason knew this first-hand. He could still remember how messed up he was when he crawled his way out of his grave and how even more messed up he became after coming out of the green waters of the Lazarus pit. And not only has he seen it in himself but he had witnessed it in others as well, in Ra’s Al Ghul among many. But in [Y/N], there was nothing such.       
After leaving the Pandora’s pits, he had thought she would turn just like him. He had expected the anger, the rage, the blood lust, the … madness. But it never came. Something far worst came. Nothing. Not like “nothing – she’s okay” but more like “nothing – my girlfriend is a huge void.”  
There was no palpable emotion on her face or in her voice. Nothing whatsoever. No pain. No rage. No sadness. Even less happiness. And that scared him.             
On their way back to Gotham, he had thought long and hard about how their life together would be now, thought about how to help her handle her resurrection using his very own experience. But he hadn’t prepared for this. He didn’t know what to say or what to do. He didn’t know shit.        
“I’m fine.” She had said on and on. And with time, he somehow let her convince him. No, he let her blind him.           
She was not fine. At all. She was a mess. And that void Jason had noticed was even bigger than what people thought. She had the terrible sensation she was slowly … emptying? She couldn’t find the right word or describe what was really happening inside of her. But it was like something or someone, like an unknown force of some kind, was wresting something from her, was tearing her body and soul apart. It took her days to realise what was truly happening. Strands of her white hair were slowly going back to their original [H/C] colour. Her strength was leaving her more and more everyday. She was turning back to her human self. The demon, the goddess, whatever inhabited her was leaving her. And the only solution she had found to that was remaining silent. Time would fix this, somehow.

But time only aggravated things and problems accumulated. One of them could easily be symbolised with a country.

“ We’re leaving for Qurac, tomorrow.” Jason said reading _Song of Innocence and of Experience_ by William Blake, nonchalantly lying on the bed. She put her hairbrush on the dressing table and looked at him, her eyes a bit widened by the way he was telling her that as if it was the most casual thing to say. He was leaving her? He couldn’t leave her. And Qurac? No he couldn’t go to Qurac. Not after what had happened to him back there. “Artemis has located the Bow of Ra. It is apparently in the hands of some crazy dictator. We need to retrieve it.” [Y/N] didn’t say a word. But she was screaming in her head. “I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, perhaps just a few days if we’re lucky and …”  
“ I’d rather like you to stay here.” She cut him short with an ounce of apprehension in her voice and eyes. Jason closed the book and got up from the bed to kneel in front of her when he noticed she was looking down at her feet. “ It’s not like I have much of a choice. Trust me I’d rather stay here fighting regular thugs. But I made a promise to Artemis.” She stayed quiet for a while. Why did he have to be honourable now? “It’s just … Qurac?” He understood what she meant by that. After all, she was the only person in this house who knew what happened to him back there. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Her hands were slightly shaking and he took them in his. They were so cold. She was so scared. He put his lips on her forehead. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Even he couldn’t believe his own lies. She could tell. But he was so stubborn. There was no way she could make him stay.  
“ I’ll do as fast as I can. You won’t even notice I’m gone.” He smiled and caressed her cheek. She nodded. This conversation was leading nowhere. He had already made up his mind. “ Just promise me you’ll be safe”                   
“ Huuuh. Not so sure I can.” He chuckled nervously, scratching his head and she begged him with her eyes. “But I will come back. That I promise.” He’d better or she’ll find him wherever he is just to kick his ass. “Kiss me.” He asked. She didn’t think about it twice and locked her lips with his, her hands cupping his face.

She could have told him, about her, about her condition. But that wouldn’t have made him stay. That would have just delay his stupid dangerous quest. And he would have worried. She didn’t want him to worry. He had already too much to worry about right now.

Jason stopped the kiss for an instant to make her stand up and press her body against him, recapturing her soft plumb lips. He needed that embrace. He needed that kiss. He needed her contact. He needed her. As much as he was good hiding it, this trip was killing him slowly, bringing back terrible painful memories under the form of clowns and crowbars.           
“Are you sure you’re okay?” She was still so close to his face he could feel her hot breath on him. “ Just take my mind out of it.” She kissed him again, with more passion this time, her fingers in his raven hair. He tightened his embrace. So did she. Her hand on his neck, she pulled him closer, as if it was even possible, and a soft moan resonated in her throat. That was the signal Jason expected. He nestled his face in her neck and started kissing her right there. She breathed in deeply, enjoying his expert mouth along with the heat growing in her body. She groped for his crotch to gently caress him through the fabric of his sweat pants. He smiled against her neck. “You’re eager tonight.” He caught her by the hips and she wrapped her legs around him. “I’m just taking your mind out of it, just like you asked.” As much as she was taking her mind out of her own problems.     
He sat down on the bed and she slowly pulled off his t-shirt. She touched his chiselled muscular torso with the tips of her finger, biting her bottom lip, and pushed him against the mattress. She was straddling him now and the call of his bare chest was too loud for her to resist her urges. She slowly started planting humid tiny kisses down his body, using occasionally her tongue to lick his hot skin. She loved doing it, perhaps even more than him liking it.           
He hissed as she approached the V of his abs, her hands on the hem of his sweatpants. His jaw was clenched and his blue eyes were dark with desire, ordering her to do it. That made her grin and she pulled his sweatpants along with his boxers. His hard thick long cock sprang free and she grabbed it. The tip was already coated with pre-cum. “I haven’t even taken my clothes off.” She joked with a pout. “You don’t need to take your clothes off to get me hard, baby. Trust me.” She smiled and kissed the tip. Jason let a small growl escape his lips and she sat on his elbow to watch her as she started licking his shaft. “You’re so beautiful.” He caressed her hair, moving hit aside so that he could clearly see her going down on him. She looked up at him and engulfed his dick in her mouth without breaking eye contact. Jason cursed. That was just divine. “Damn, you’re so good.” She looked divine too, with pleasure glowing on her face as se was genuinely enjoying him in her mouth. Jason began thrusting in her, occasionally making her almost gag on him, but she didn’t mind. He was sweet and respectful even when he was rough. That’s why he was the only man that could dominate her. Though, right now, he was more submitted to her than she was to him. She was in control.  
Jason’s head suddenly slammed against the mattress. His eyes closed and his jaw clenched as he gripped her hair more hardly. [Y/N] knew what it meant but she didn’t stop. She bobbed her head more quickly and massaged his balls, moaning sensually with his throbbing cock still in her mouth, just as he loved it. It didn’t take long for him to spill his hot cum in her mouth with a loud guttural growl “Fuck.” He cursed before relaxing against the mattress. She chuckled lightly, proud of herself, and straddled him again so that he could see her swallowing his load. “Damn. You sexy naughty girl.” He made her bend against him to kiss her, tasting himself a little in her mouth. “I hope you still have some energy left, Redbird.” He smirked. It’s been a while since she hadn’t called him that. “Just the time to get even with you and I’ll be ready for round two. Come here” Her eyes widened slightly when she understood he wanted her to sit on his face but shock moved on to arousal. She obeyed, pulled up silk black babydoll; her pussy already wet, and placed herself upon his face. Jason caught her thighs and without forewarning began kissing her clit. Her legs instinctively almost closed and she grabbed his hair as his tongue was now playing with her bud. He was doing great, licking up and down, down and up, so great she eventually started moving her hips. “Jay” She whispered. He hummed against her and the vibration made her scream. He had found the right spot apparently. “Oh, Jay. Ha” She was unable to talk properly now. “Yes right there.”                  
“ Baby, not that loud. You’re going to wake up everyone.” He laughed, his black hair completely dishevelled. “I don’t give a fuck.” She cursed before screaming again and again. Jason grabbed her thighs more strongly to keep her place as she was getting more and more wet in his mouth. She was close. So close. Only a few more licks and kisses. And that’s it. She caught his thick thighs not to fall and came loudly on his face. “ Now, I’m sure everyone is awake.” Jason laughed as he helped her sit down on his lap. “Ooops. Sorry” She chuckled, still panting. “Don’t be. I least they know how good I fuck you.” He straightened up.           
“ Well technically …” She brushed the sweaty strands of hair on his forehead backwards. “You aren’t really fucking me, yet.” No time to joke a little more. Jason had already put his cock inside her red pussy. “Oh my. Now you are.” He laughed and began pounding her from underneath. She grasped his back, pressing her body closer to his, and started moaning his name again. Jason’s lips were now on her breasts, sucking on her nipples and she could feel the wave of pleasure drowning her again. That was too much to handle.       
Jason lay down on the bed again and as he was pounding her relentlessly he placed his hands on her bouncing boobs. “Oh you look so good on top of me. Now ride me, baby” He stopped moving and she took over, grinding herself on top of him, jumping up and down, his thick cock filling her so well, her hands on his sweaty pectorals. She yelped when he slapped her ass but ultimately chortled so he did it again. “Yeah just like that.” She bent down to kiss him, pressing her breasts against him, and slightly screamed when he grabbed her cheeks to hammer her. She could hear his balls slapping against her and the wet noises of her pussy. That was so hot. “I think I’m coming again.” She whimpered as his fast pace made her clench around his cock and grasp the sheets. She yelled – probably too loud – and came around him. That was intense.

Suddenly, Jason pushed her shivering body off him to pin her down on the bed. He wasn’t finished with her. He thrust easily in her wet core again but this time deeper. “Wait.” She begged. He stopped, panting and worried. “I’m sorry. Was it too rough? Did I hurt you?”            
“ No, it’s just … can you go a bit slower, please?” He nodded. “Sure” She moaned when he moved again, this time slowly and with a lot more tenderness. This was better, at least for her sore pussy. Jason kissed her nose. “Like that?”    
“ Yeah. That feels good.” She sighed, enjoying how sweet he was. “I love you, you know?” he said staring at her in the eye. “I love you too, Jay.” He kissed her softly, still moving in and out of her. He kept on that pace for a few minutes but then he felt the urge to come inside of her. “I need to cum.” So he put weight on his arms and he deepened his thrusts. [Y/N] dug her nails in his arms and watched his cock coming in and out of her between her legs. Jason growled, loudly, and suddenly barely stopped moving. She felt his cock twitching and his seed spreading inside of her and dripping from her pussy as he pulled out.

Jason let himself fall by [Y/N] and breathed out deeply. “Wow. That may sound cliché but I need to sleep now.” She chuckled and put her head on his chest. “So, that mean I took your mind out of it?”  
“My mind out of what?” He smiled before kissing her softly.

Minutes passed. She couldn’t close her eyes, even nestled in Jason’s loving embrace. She looked at him. He looked surprisingly peaceful and calm.          
Jason was never much of a sleeper. Even before Joker, back when he was a child, he would often stay awake at night to make sure his dad would not take the gun in the kitchen and get rid of his two biggest mistakes or he would watch over her mother, sit in the dark, to prevent her from choking in her own vomit. So let’s say his sleep disorders were now something he was unfortunately used to, just as he was used to the endless twisting and turning and the nightmares. And even though he was feeling better with [YN] by his side, it had happened a few times when she was in bed with him. That’s how he had told her about Qurac, about the Joker, about his mother, about everything.            
But tonight, she was the insomniac. There was too much in her mind, too much fear. When she understood she would not sleep she kissed Jason softly on his chest, got up, put on a wool cardigan and went down the stairs to have a glass of water in the kitchen.          
As she opened the fridge, the light blinded her eyes but she noticed a weird shadow. She quickly closed the door and took a knife on the counter. “I wouldn’t do that.” A low voice said. She sighed, annoyed, and put down the blade. “You scared me. What the hell are you doing here, Batman?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think of this chapter?
> 
> Any idea on how the story will end?
> 
> Let me know in the comment section. 
> 
> Love you all


	22. The Beginning of the End ... Or the End of the Beginning?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!

When she had asked Batman if he wanted a drink it was meant to be sarcastic. But here he was, sitting at the kitchen table, staring at her in silence through the white holes of his black mask, not even looking away every time he was taking a sip of water. That was disturbing. It gave her the impression he was gauging her. Maybe he was.                    
Tired of being uncomfortable, she finally dare ask him what he wanted. He put down the glass. “How’s Jason doing?” Her eyes widened, confused. “Really? That’s why you’re here.” He didn’t reply. No, he couldn’t be serious? “ What do you think? He’s fucking scared. He’s going back to Qurac. You know? The place where you let him die.” She had said the last sentence on purpose, just to see an emotion on his face to make him more human, not by fear but because his attitude was playing with her nerves. Unfortunately, he kept his classical stoicism.                   
“How are you doing?” [Y/N]’s face turned pale. So this was about her. “I’m doing the best I can.” She replied genuinely but stressed to know what he wanted. So she repeated. “What do you want, Batman?”                    
“ You look exhausted you know. You don’t seem to be yourself. I suppose that’s normal considering what happened with Ra’s and Cerci.”                 
“ Can we stop with this rather phatic conversation already?” She asked annoyed. “Why are you here?” He breathed in deeply. That wasn’t a good sign. “You’re here to bring me back to Arkham, aren’t you?” She shivered. She didn’t want to go there. She didn’t need to go there, did she?         
“No. No I’m not here to do that. I can’t do that.”              
“Blackgate then?” He shook his head. “No”       
“ Then what?”    
“ I need you to be sincere with me, [Y/N]” His voice suddenly sounded warmer and more sympathetic. He took off his cowl as an attempt to appear more familiar and less scary. It didn’t work. “What is going on with you, right now? And don’t say ‘nothing’.” She opened her mouth to speak but no word came out. “I talked to Zatanna. I know there’s something, [Y/N]. I’m not here to judge you. I’m not here to lecture you. And I won’t tell Jason if you don’t want to. I’m only here for your welfare.”               
She could tell he was genuine. But she hesitated. She knew the second she would say what’s wrong out loud there was no going back. But it was maybe time to punch her denial right in the face. “ I think I’m sick. There’s something wrong with me, really really wrong.” She undid her ponytail to show him the [y/hc] strands in her normally pure white hair. “I don’t know what’s happening to me but it’s like … it’s like what’s inhabited me … the wolf, the goddess, whatever it is … is leaving me. I feel weak. And it scares me. What if it’s due to Circe’s magical dagger? What if what she did to me is slowly killing me? Or what if it is the aftermath of the pits magic?” Bruce frowned but he didn’t seem worried by her suspicions. “I talked to Zatanna… after what happened with Circe and Ra’s. She told me, [Y/N]. She told me what is happening to you. Why don’t you just tell me? And I swear I’ll help you.”                     
“ I told you everything. I don’t know what you mean.” She was confused and just by looking at her, all scared and lost, Bruce could tell she was indeed telling the truth. However, for an instant, he preferred she wasn’t.  He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. How could he say that to her? Should he say that to her? “I’m not much of a believer, [Y/N]. Even to me, what I’m about to you sounds completely illogical but before Circe killed you, Zatanna felt something. So did Circe. That’s how they knew you would come back to life after Circe stabbed you to death.”                   
“ What did they feel?”  
“ According to Zatanna, the goddess inside of you can’t live without a fit host. When you died at the Pandora’s pits she had to find a new body, someone strong enough to bear her power, someone from your bloodline.” [Y/N] frowned.       
“ But all my family is dead. Are you telling me the goddess brought me back to life to …”          
“No. She found someone else. That’s probably why you’re feeling this weird. She may have already changed host or something. Maybe if you come to the manor we’ll find answers and …”            
“ For fuck’s safe, Bats. What the fuck is happening? What are you tying to tell me?” She growled, tired of listening to him saying absurd and unclear things.            
“ We have all the reason to believe you’re pregnant, [Y/N]”

[Y/N] would have fall if it weren’t for the chair she was sitting on. She hadn’t just heard that. No. No that was impossible. Pregnant? Did he say pregnant? No. No. No. That was a dream, a nightmare even. This was ridiculous. Bats had gone bonkers.  She couldn’t be pregnant. She wasn’t pregnant.

“Zatanna said the wolf goddess chose your baby the second you died because it was the strongest and only available shelter. But she needed you to stay alive. So she brought you back to life. This baby…”      
“ Stop with this word!!” She shouted almost too loudly as she got up “I’m not pregnant! I can’t be pregnant. This is crazy.” Her voice was shaking. So were her hands. She was terrified. What if it wasn’t that crazy?                  
“ Do you and Jason always use protection?” And he was calm. How could he be so calm? “None of your goddamn business.”             
“ I take this as a no.” She had a nervous chuckle. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. “ Look Zatanna is clearly losing it and so are you. If I were pregnant, I would know okay? But I have no symptoms ok? This has to be something else. So now please just go!”  She begged with tears in her eyes, hiding her face in her hand                 
“ If you need anything. Just stop by at the Manor.” His sympathy was killing her. “Like hell I will.” 

And the second after, he was gone, vanished in the air like a ghost. And she was all alone in the dark. She breathed in deeply, trying to find her inner calm, again and again until she finally found the strength to go back in the bedroom.          
Jason was still fast asleep, looking so peaceful. She approached silently to sit on the edge of the bed and instinctively put her hands on her stomach before shaking her head. No there was nothing in there. “He’s wrong.” She whispered to herself.     
The sudden movement creasing the sheets on the bed made her come back to reality. Jason was trying to reach for her, feeling around the side of the bed she was supposed to sleep on. He blinked and opened his eyes when he realised she wasn’t there. “What are you doing up? It’s late come back to sleep.” He grumbled with a hoarse voice still a bit asleep but when he noticed her tears glistening in the moonlight he immediately sat up. “Hey. What’s wrong?” She smiled lightly, wiping her tears away. “I was thirsty. Sorry I woke you.” He pulled her against him. “If this is about Qurac again, you don’t have to worry.” He said as he kissed her in her silky hair, brushing it with his fingers. She nodded. It was better to lie. It was better this way. He lay down on the bed, keeping her against him and started caressing her body. “Nothing can keep me away from you. You are my life, baby” She shivered when she heard him say this last word. Please God, make it all false. “You are my life too, Jay”         

* * *

 [Y/N] was a girl who had seen a lot, who had been through a lot. But she couldn’t remember a time she had been that scared. Her hands holding the pregnancy test were shaking like never before. And the minutes felt like hours. She wanted the answer right now. No she wanted the negative sign right now. Not a baby. She wanted that bar to show up just to breathe again and also to shove it down Batman’s tight asshole. But the negative sign didn’t appear.         
Instead a blue + showed up. “Hello, here to screw your already screwed life.” That’s what it meant. Or unless it was “ You couldn’t use a condom, bitch?” or “What’s going to happen to you, now?” She started crying in silence. This was terrible. She didn’t want that baby. She didn’t need that baby in her life. Nor did Jason. They weren’t ready to be parents. They couldn’t be parents, not with the kind of life they were leading. But it was their child nevertheless, here, inside of her. It was the fruit of their love.               
She cried, here, sitting on the toilet, perhaps too long or too loud since Ma Gunn came to knock to the door. “[Y/N], are you okay?” She hid the test in some toilet paper and threw it in the bin before opening the door, faking a smile. “Yes, great. Sorry for taking so long.” The old woman stared at her for a little while, wondering what was wrong because something clearly was. “What are you hiding?”   
“ Nothing. Just a stomach ache. I’m going for a walk. I need some fresh hair.” The old woman frowned but let her pass anyway, still suspicious.

* * *

 

“I’m glad you’re here.”                   
“ Just let’s get on with it, shall we.” [Y/N] spit has she extended her arms so that Batman could draw some blood. The needle stung and made her hiss and clench her jaw. She would usually never do that. She watched as the thick red liquid filled the syringe, worried. “I’m going to analyse it. It shouldn’t be long.” [Y/N] nodded and stayed where she was, staring at the huge computer in the batcave. The percentage on the screen augmented quickly and soon a drawing showing her DNA appeared. The Dark Knight stayed quiet for a while, typing relentlessly on his computer with no sign of frustration whatsoever. [Y/N], however, was sizzling, impatient and on the edge. Hormones?   
“So?”  
“ No sign of metagene, whatsoever. You DNA is perfectly human.” He said as he got up of his chair and approached her again with another yet way much bigger syringe. “What’s that for?” She asked as she backed up. “It’s a needle originally used for amniocentesis. I’m gonna use it to see if the child’s DNA.”           
“ No way this needle jab my stomach… Have you done this before?”                    
“No. But what other choice do you have?” He asked back. “Trust me it’s not that painful.” Not that painful? She literally dropped a few silent tears and moaned slightly, her hands grasping tightly the sheets of the bed she was laid on. But mostly, it terrified her. Could it be dangerous for the baby? She wished someone had tried to reassure her a bit before. “All done.” She immediately put her hand on her stomach and rubbed it. A sweet motherly reflex that wasn’t left unnoticed. “It’s gonna be fine.”                 
“ Doubt it but thanks for the attempt to reassure me… Though it is a bit late now.”  Bruce let out a light smile. She had nerve. He could understand why Jason liked her so much. “ Have you told Jason you were here?”

Of course she hadn’t. How could she?

* * *

 

Wandering in her room, her hands on her belly, she was stressing out. He was back. Today. He had sent her a brief message. And she knew she had to tell him about her condition, about the baby.                     
When she heard the main door slam open, she immediately rushed downstairs but what she saw was terrible. “Bizarro?” She gasped as she ran towards Jason and Artemis who were carrying the unconscious Kryptonian clone, his arms rested on their shoulders. “What happened?”   
“Long story. I’ll tell you later” Jason said. “Ma. We need you!” He yelled when he they all enter the kitchen. She watched hopeless as they close the door behind them and went to sit in the living room to wait for Jason or Artemis or anyone else to tell her what was going on. Originally, she would have entered the kitchen and stayed with them but she was scared. Who knew what had happened to Bizarro? For her safety and her child’s health she couldn’t risk anything.    

She waited for more than an hour when Jason finally decided to show, a solemn air on his face. “How is he?” She asked, panicked, as she rushed to him to cup his cheek. “ Not good.” He sighed definitely worried. She took him in her arms and caressed his thick black hair, his head nestled in her neck. He needed it as much as she needed it right now. How much she had missed him. “We can’t lose him, [Y/N]”                 
“You won’t.” She tried to reassure him with a compassionate look but he sighed and went to sit on the windowsill. “You were right. We shouldn’t have left.”       
She didn’t know what to say. Instead she went to sit in front of him to take his hands in hers. “What happened back there?” She caressed his hands with her thumb to encourage him to tell her everything. And he did. He told her about everything. About the Bow of Ra. About Akila. How she had gone completely berserk and tried to kill innocents. How her madness had consumed her. How Bizarro saved them all. And he told her about Joker and Robin too.                  
He was exhausted. He looked terrible but he found the strength to smile lightly. “But I’m back now, with you. And that’s all that matters.” He kissed her hand and she smiled too. But it was brief and he noticed it. “What’s wrong?”            
“ Nothing.” She looked through the window to avoid his worried stare.              
“ Please don’t do that.” She didn’t move. She couldn’t tell him. Not now. But he insisted “[Y/N]” She breathed in deeply and started shivering. She knew she would get away with another secret. “Something happened while you were gone.” He frowned, probably expecting the worse. Was it the worse he could expect?                   
“ I’m pregnant.” You said calmly.

His big blue eyes widened and he didn’t say a word. He didn’t move either, as if he was paralysed. It was as if the world was collapsing around him, tumbling down like a house of cards. He hadn’t seen that one coming. And he had never experienced such emotions. Shock, Surprise, Fear, Worry, Joy and Excitement. He didn’t know how to process all this, how to handle it.                   
“ Jay?” She called out, definitely scared. “Jay, please say something.”               
When he finally recovered speech he barely asked. “How long?”           
“ A little bit more than a month, I guess. But I learned it last week” He nodded and rested his back against the window, the feelings still jostling inside of him. His pale and mortified face was terrifying her.  “ You don’t want it?” She worried. “That’s what you can’t tell me?”          
He turned his face to look at her, shocked by her thoughts. “ What? No. Of course I want this baby with you. I love you.” He said as he cupped her face and she smiled lightly with tears in her eyes. “It’s just … so unexpected”           
“ I know” She whispered.              
“What about you? Do you want it?” He asked as he noticed you were still feeling so bad.        
“ It’s complicated, Jay.”                 
“ What’s complicated?” He wondered. “If it’s about our lives, we’ll manage. We’ll do everything to keep him or her safe, away from all the horrors of our lives, our enemies, away from Gotham if we have to.” Part of her was so happy to listen to him saying those beautiful words, to hear he would sacrifice everything for her, for them. But he didn’t know everything.  
“ Our baby is … I don’t know how to say it, Jay.” You breathed in and he furrowed his brows. “Our baby has inherited my powers.”                   
“ How do you know that?” He straightened up, brows furrowed. “Cause I don’t have them anymore. Not since the Pandora’s pits. I’m human again” He scrutinised her with widened eyes. “That’s what you’ve been hiding from me.” She nodded, ashamed. “ I thought I could handle it alone with worrying you. I … “                    
“ Worrying me? [Y/N] …” He sighed, exasperated.           
“ I know. That was stupid and I shouldn’t have hidden this from you. But I’m telling you now. When I died, our baby took my powers. The goddess is in her right now… Gosh that sounds so absurd.” She put her hands in her hands, helpless, trying to figure out what was really happening as she still had trouble believing in all this. Jason put a comforting arm around her and kissed her shoulder.          
“ Wait… Her?” He suddenly grinned. A girl? A baby girl? She looked back at him, moved by joy that had frozen his features. “ I have all the reasons to believe it’s a girl.” She smiled, happy to see his wide smile. He chuckled. He was going to be a father to a sweet baby girl.               
“ Okay. Then we’ll be even more overprotective parents. We’ll protect her, together.” But Y/N wasn’t in the same mood. She shook your head and he started at her with confusion and apprehension. “No. I’ll do it.”                   
“ What do you mean?” He distanced himself from her, shocked and incredulous. What had she just said?  
“ I’ll go. Away from Gotham. Away from my past. Away from …”                
“ Me?”                   He cut her short and she looked down. Yes, that’s exactly what she meant. He got up and began walking in circle trying to keep his calm.“ It’s the best thing to do. I’ll make myself a new identity, have a fresh start and …”      
“ Are you telling me you don’t want me in my daughter’s life?” He didn’t yell. He didn’t need to. Everything was in his eyes. The rage, the confusion… but especially … the pain.    
“ I’m saying that if you truly want to protect her as much as I do, you’ll let me go. Being the daughter of the Red Hood and of an ex-assassin is not safe and you and I both know, you can’t quit your vigilante life. Not yet.” You waved towards the kitchen where Bizarro was sleeping, between life and death. “ Gotham needs you. Bizarro and Artemis need you, right now.”                 
“ So do you.” He replied, offended. “I’m a tough girl. I can handle myself.” He faked a laugh. No. no. No way. No fucking way!               
“I won’t let you do that. You can’t take her away from me. I’m her father.”       
“ You can come and visit.” She smiled lightly but it was a sad smile. She knew she was asking him a lot, that she was asking him something awful, something she shouldn’t even ask him or any father.   
“ I lived without a father, [Y/N]! And that sucks!”             
“ I know. And you must understand that this decision is hard for me to take. But you have to trust me. You have to trust me because I know what I must do, what’s best for her. Gotham, our lives, we’ll just put her in danger even if we don’t want to”              

He wanted to fight but instead he did what was best to do right now, for his daughter’s sake. He put himself in Y/N’s shoes. She was right. Like him, she just wanted to protect what she loved most. She would not change her mind. He had to let them both go despite what his selfish heart wanted.         

“ Then I’ll do everything to make Gotham a safe place for her.” Those words hurt. It hurt because it knew that they were, what they meant. A farewell. “Do you hear me?” He knelt and put his face close to Y/N’s belly so that she would hear him.  

“I’ll do everything I have to do to have you back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope your enjoyed this fanfic as much as I loved writing it. It was my first Red Hood fanfic and it will always be my baby.
> 
> I would love to read your comments on this ending and the story in general. 
> 
> Personally, I'm a bit disappointed by the last chapters I wrote though. So it feels good to finally end it somehow.
> 
> I was thinking about writing a sequel. Just let me know by answering the following poll : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1v-4S8AUFnNisQkjhJLnH4KNczPOdERaOyptcwQfrx-I/edit 
> 
> Love,
> 
> Cee


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